Tatsumi: The Shadow Assassin
by Streggae
Summary: Alternate Universe where Tatsumi is a nomad who happens to be blind, he wields an ancient power, older and more terrifying than any Teigu. With years of experience travelling this unforgiving world he forged his skills all the while maintaining his apathetic views on war. But what will happen when he travels to the capital, will he discard his belief to help in the fight?
1. Kill The Illusions

**Author's Notes: Alright this is my fourth Fanfic and truth be told I created it from reading a Naruto and Akame Ga Kill crossover fanfiction called** _ **Of Crows and Blood Red Eyes**_ **by HokagenoNaruto if you're a fan of either series then I** **highly** **recommend it.**

 **And just a heads up I wrote this because I was that impressed with the aforementioned fanfic that I just had to at least try my hand at it. Finally although this is on a whim I go by a code when writing Fanfics so I'll will be writing to the best of my abilities and imagination while staying true to the characters and any deviations will be for actual legitimate reasons and not for the sake of plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Kill The Illusions!**

 _It was dark, cold_

 _Tatsumi_

 _Tat_ sumi

Tatsumi

*GASP*

The boy woke up but his eyes were still close.

"Tatsumi are you alright?" A concerned girl asked him.

After deep silent breaths Tatsumi calmed down

 **XXXX** Tatsumi's POV **XXXX**

That dream, why did I dream about that day?

I felt a hand on my hand "Tatsumi" a familiar female voice called out.

Sayo, now I remember.

I gave a small smile "don't worry I'm fine"

I couldn't tell her expression but her hand squeezed mine slightly

"Was it that dream again?"

I nodded slowly. I didn't need sight to know that she was worried about me and could anyone blame her? It's not the first time I had that dream and I figured out why.

"Where's Ieyasu?" I said getting up.

"He's hunting in the forest for breakfast." She replied while standing up as well.

I reached for my black cloak, somehow I always feel safer wearing it. The tall zip up black jacket reached to my ankles, the sleeves are intentionally longer than my arms and the collar covered my mouth.

Someone once commented that I could catch heatstroke in it but that's alright with me, I can regulate my body temperature. I once walked through a desert without breaking a sweat although it was warm.

Lastly I took my head band and tied it around my eyes, it's not like I'll need them since well, since I'm blind. My ears perked when I heard the familiar footsteps of someone I've come to call my friend.

"So your finally up, it's about damn time!" He exclaimed.

From what I can hear, his footsteps sounded heavier which means either he's gotten fat in the last few hours or he's carrying something.

I heard something hit the ground "You know you could've helped me with breakfast Tatsumi!"

I couldn't help but put up a playful grin and pointed at him with a dramatic pose "are you telling me that _the_ great Ieyasu, the village's greatest warrior, would need the help of a _blind_ boy to kill a low level danger beast? Could it be? You were a fraud this entire time!? I am shocked!"

I could hear Sayo's giggling very clearly even though she tried to stifle them with her hand. Ieyasu on the other hand was growling but it stopped and he marched in front of me.

"Of course I, the great Ieyasu didn't need you to help me _kill_ it but if you were there it would've been easier tracking the damn thing!"

He has a point, I'll give him that but no way would I admit it. After an hour we ate the danger beast heartily it was big but just because we're young doesn't mean we don't eat big. Sayo surprisingly can eat almost as much as we do but the most gluttonous of the trio goes to Ieyasu.

I like this, I like this a **lot** , I've only met them a few months ago but Sayo and Ieyasu have grown on me and I'm usually apathetic towards people in general. Well I wouldn't give _all_ of the credit to these two, more like it was their home, their village itself. They treated me kindly and with care, the citizens were happy even though they were poor and the experience was like fresh air in the middle of a pile of shit that is the rest of the world.

After _**that**_ day I spent, let's see, over _ten_ years wandering the world aimlessly while polishing my fighting skills and developing original techniques while experimenting with my **power.** During that time I have met vile, disgusting and sometimes terrifying creatures and have 'seen' the worst of humanity.

However eight months ago, while I was wandering I came upon Sayo and Ieyasu fighting against a pack of black bears. I could smell blood coming from both of them and could tell there were about 12 of the danger beasts. After contemplating for a moment I came to a conclusion and sprang to their defense.

With my help we were able to kill all of them and afterwards the entire village had a feast, rewarding my intervention as well which was odd. I soon found out that the small village I ended up in was a poor one. Rations were scarce and with the coming winter they needed money to be able to afford outside assistance.

The village elder's solution to this was for the strongest warriors to travel to the capital and seek out a job and send the money back to the village. I was instantly against it, I've heard stories of the capital and I even asked about it once just out of curiosity. The answer I got was that it was a swirling cesspool of corruption, murder, greed and every other sin imaginable.

The other more detailed stories I've heard about that place involved their prime minister the center of all the corruption. Apparently he's using the Emperor as a puppet to do what he wants but if an Emperor, who has a duty towards his citizens, let this corruption go so far then he should be judged as the minister should and in my book that means death.

The other stories centered around its two famous generals: The great general Budo, his sheer power has said to put fear in entire nations however he has resigned himself to the royal palace, acting as its guard dog and only the few who have survived in a battle against his army are privy to his former glory.

The other general who is said to rival Budo in terms of being the strongest in the capital is another story. According to the stories _she_ is an evil, sadistic battle freak who lives for war, enjoys torturing and gets off on fighting. I was unfortunate enough to have wandered into the aftermath of one of her wars, it was hands down one of the most depressing scenes in my life and I couldn't even see anything, thank the Gods for that.

Truth is I didn't need to 'see' anything, I could _feel_ the despair the moment I stepped foot in that place. Personally I don't like wars or fighting in general and I definitely don't take pleasure in killing, no I'd avoid it. That doesn't mean I wouldn't do it for survival or the greater good or for the safety of those that are precious to me.

Which brings me to the reason why I'm following Sayo and Ieyasu to the capital: for one all the reasons I've just mention and secondly, believe it or not I like going to new places good or bad just for the experience, I am a wanderer for a reason. Speaking of

"How far are we from the capital?" I asked as we walked.

Sayo was quick to answer "about an hour maybe an hour and a half tops. I can see it in view."

Ieyasu let out a pleasant sigh "I can't wait to get there. I bet we'd already be there if _someone_ woke up earlier." I think he was glaring at me when he said that.

Usually I'd retort with something smart but I was too busy thinking, thinking about what they could do for jobs in the capital that has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the imperial army or police force. It was honestly very hard since they need a lot of money but we didn't have any form of formal education to get a decent enough job that pays well while not involving fighting.

I scratched my head in frustration and Sayo seemed to have picked up on this

"Is something wrong Tatsumi?" Her voice was smooth, soothing even and she seems to actually be paying attention to me.

"Oh, I was just thinking what we're going to do when we get there. Do any of you have any idea?"

"Well that's simply, all we have to do is join the imperial army. That was the plan from the start."

I stopped as soon as he finished that sentence.

"What did you say?" I asked a little angry.

Both of them stopped and I guess they were looking at me funny.

"Why would you want to join the imperial army, didn't the elder explain what the capital was like Ieyasu, Sayo?" I turned my head in her general direction.

"I know the capital isn't going to be the nicest place on earth but what else can we do Tatsumi? We were trained to be fighters, we can't do anything else. Besides it's the royal army they just can't be as corrupted as those rich bastards and politicians!"

He sounded sure of himself but I could hear it, the sound of his heart beat flared when he said that last bit. I shook my head at him

"You're lying to yourself Ieyasu, you and I both know that the capital is basically run by a sorry excuse of a human being and that the police force are worst than some of the criminals. Even if you got into the army have you ever even killed someone before!?" I exclaimed although it came out louder than I expected.

There was no reply and after a moment I continued calmly "listen even though both of you are going into the capital with nothing but good intentions I will tell you now that the people in there will break you. If even half the stories I've heard about that place are true then you two might die before the week is finished." My tone was dark, serious and filed with personal experience.

I haven't been in the capital but from what I heard, I've actually been to places all too similar to it.

There was a long uncomfortable silence.

Ieyasu let out a tired sigh "then just what are we to do for money if not join the army?"

"That's what I was thinking before." Back to square one I guess.

"Wait" Sayo spoke and we both turned to her, I guess.

"Tatsumi do you honestly believe that everyone in the capital is bad?"

That was a good question and despite my jaded views on the world I will be the first to admit that I try to see the good in people, too bad they mostly end up disappointing me.

I seriously thought about it and answered "alright I honestly don't believe that _everyone_ in the capital is scum but they're few and in between."

"That's good enough reason to try my idea" she said with relief

"And what idea is that?" questioned Ieyasu

"I think we should become bodyguards to a wealthy, clean noble." She answered with confidence.

Well **that** was certainly not what I had in mind.

"That's actually not a bad idea" Ieyasu enquired

That was one vote down

"What say you Tatsumi?"

Sayo could be right, somewhere in that city might actually be a clean noble who doesn't agree with the corruption in the capital and if there is he/she would need protection. Suddenly I felt optimistic about the prospect of bodyguard work. I mean yeah nobles could afford guards but those guys are a gold piece a dozen.

Not to mention they're mainly there to deter unorganized or petty thieves from trying anything. But when professionals are involved, I mean truly skilled, organized assassins that have enough resources those guy might as well be cannon fodder.

"…okay, we'll go with that plan, for now at least." I answered and we continued our journey.

I was thinking about it and _of course_ it would have to be something along the lines of fighting not that I am particularly worried about their safety in that aspect. On the contrary they are exceptionally skilled, they could be considered prodigious. I learned that their former master sparred with them and sometimes lost.

After a week in the village I was utterly confused to hear him ask me for a match, I later learned that Sayo let slipped some of the things I did when we fought those danger beasts. The match itself wasn't anything special it lasted a full two minutes before he conceded.

Somehow or the other he seemed okay with this, the man himself was even grateful that I was able to defeat him. He then requested that I train Sayo and Ieyasu for the time being until they are to go to the capital.

This was an odd request, to ask a young, **blind** stranger to train your two students but I guess after I beat him he had a valid reason. Truth be told, he was a former imperial soldier that didn't make it into the higher ranks and retired to the small village. I learned that he too was taken with this village and wanted it and its people to survive.

The other reason was that as someone who used to work for the capital he had firsthand experience of the atrocities committed in those walls. That's where I come in; he needed someone stronger than him to teach them things he could not. My age didn't matter he said and he also made a comment on how I had an air of maturity and experience in how I approached things.

He got all that from our fight and I had to admit, for a guy who berates himself he has some good insight, guess it comes with age. He had a point of course and after spending time there I agreed with his blessing. If only it was that easy, personally I found the first week very awkward Sayo and Ieyasu especially underestimated me.

Sure I proved to them that I was more skilled and could beat them both at the same time but I was still _younger_ than them by about two years. I'm 18, Sayo is 19 and Ieyasu is a few months older being 20, my birthday had already went by and Sayo's was coming up so yeah 2 years older. The training itself was hard for me, the way how I fight wasn't something I could teach so instead I just sparred with each of them to build on what they already know and pointed out what they did wrong.

Ieyasu was easier to train; he used to wield a long axe but after pointing out how impractical it was he replaced them with two short swords behind his waist. I gave him any advice on his choice of weapons during the spars, I even thought him some of the tricks I used. Even though our style of fighting were different, while he is a warrior who fights his opponents face to face, I prefer an assassin's approach silent, quick and clean.

Sayo was another story; her main weapon is a bow which to me is a cumbersome weapon to practice with traditionally. I can't really judge her on hitting a bullseye on a target so I thought of an unorthodox method that puts me at risk. It involves a fruit strapped to my head and me moving really fast, that way she can hit a moving target.

I even threw projectiles at her to keep her on her toes; she surprised me with how fast she was with it. Right now Sayo could put five arrows in someone a hundred meters away while dodging rifle fire, I know because I can throw a knife faster than a gun can fire a bullet, I did it before, multiple times.

Needless to say, they _can_ handle themselves and I made sure to teach them about certain things to look out for, like poison, ill intent and how to choose your enemy. That last part is still in progress because there wasn't much to choose from in the village and finding a danger beast they _can't_ take on proved to be a waste of time.

As the months wound down we became a like a close knit group, instead of student younger master it became friends just hanging out sharing techniques and killing danger beasts. Ieyasu and I would engage in competitive friendly banter and joke around when we're not training.

Sayo would be one of the few persons who still treated me like a blind person. She'd join me for when I'm alone; if she found me in a crowded street she would lead me around to my destination. Recently I found myself having nightmares about the day I lost my sight and more than once the first person I wake up to is her, I chalked it up to her caring personality.

"We're finally here!" Ieyasu exclaimed happily.

I could hear Sayo's faint 'wow' which means that whatever this place looked like was by the very least impressive. I on the other hand could care less, not because I couldn't see but because I could feel, hear and smell the place. The despair in the air was so thick that it made my skin crawl, I could smell the pollution and I set my hearing to the whispers of the crowd around us

" _Those kids are strange….."_

" _Is that boy blind?"_

" _Poor kid he won't last long"_

" _Why is he dressed like that in this weather?"_

" _They must be from the country….poor kids….."_

" _Just what we need more rats from the country"_

" _That girl is kinda cute, wonder how much she'd sell for?"_

" _A blind boy, the young mistress has never had a blind one before…."_

"Grrr" I gritted my teeth and growled

"What's up with you?" Ieyasu asked

"I was just listening to what some of the people were saying about us."

"What did they say?" Sayo questioned with well placed concern

"Long story short they are angry, sorry or indifferent, also Sayo?" I turned to her

"Yes?"

"I heard one of them scouting you with intentions to sell you as a sex slave." I said with much distaste.

Sayo was quiet at this but Ieyasu's response was melodramatic to say the least

"What!?" he shouted just loud enough for me to hear some murmurs

"Ieyasu calm down" I said slowly

"No" he grabbed me by the collar "you point me to the son of a bitch who said that, now!"

I shook my head slowly "it's too late he's long gone…."

"Bullshit!" he retorted, cutting me off.

"Ieyasu Tatsumi we're attracting attention." Sayo warned

Suddenly the murmurs started getting more profound. I grabbed Ieyasu's hand and forced/dragged him into what I believed to be a secluded alley.

I slammed him into a wall and I could hear him charging at me only to be stopped by Sayo.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked angrily

"Are **you** out of your mind!?" He shot back. "And you Sayo, how could you not care that some sick fuck wants to sell you off like some, _thing_!"

"Ieyasu I understand and believe me it disgusts me as well but" she paused to sigh "but going after them now wouldn't solve the village's problems and making a scene in the middle of the street doesn't make our situation any better!" She reasoned.

"Are you telling me that killing scum like that wouldn't benefit anyone else?"

"You can't be this naïve." I was frustrated at this point although I couldn't blame him.

Years ago I was in a similar situation and I did kill someone because of it but that didn't solve the problem.

I stood in front of him "do you think killing a few scouts is going to make a difference in the big picture?"

There was silence

"Look" I sighed "let's just focus for now and if trouble finds us we'll deal with it but for now we have another problem."

"And what's that?" Ieyasu didn't sound pleased but at least he accepted the situation for what it is now.

"Someone in the crowd marked me"

"What" that was Sayo of course "why!?"

"I don't know but we should probably leave the area as soon as possible. Oh and Sayo I have something for you."

I stretched out my arm; doubt she could even see my hands under the sleeve. I turned it over to reveal my hand holding a dagger and throwing knives.

"Just in case" I assured her.

She took them and thanked me before we all set out again.

As always Sayo held my hand to lead me around, why, I don't know? I've proven myself capable of walking on my own sure I can't read a map or go to a specific destination by myself but I sure as hell can follow them. Even though to be honest her hands are soft and…you know what I don't suddenly don't care anymore.

I don't really know how long we were wandering the streets to get information but it must have been _very long_ because I haven't heard Ieyasu curse so much since the time I was teaching them how to detect an enemy in hiding. Eventually he went off with our expenses to find somewhere we can stay meanwhile Sayo wanted to explore some more but I declined.

"Huh, why not?" I could hear the slight disappointment in her voice.

I didn't really have a problem with walking but I can tell that my appearance was attracting a lot of attention that I didn't want. Plus attention I was receiving was instantly pushed to Sayo, I don't have a solid grasp on what she looks like but everyone in the village says that she's beautiful.

You would have to be an idiot not to know that a beautiful country girl in a city like this would mean to most criminals, rich/old perverts or just the general population, easy prey.

"Well you see I'm tired" my stomach growled conveniently "and I'm kinda hungry." I gave an awkward smile.

"Alright, stay here I'll go find Ieyasu and come back with something." Her words were filled with some uncertainty.

After she left I let out a tired sigh the sun had gone down so I went to the nearest corner and sat down, I didn't care where I sat as long as it wasn't smelly or sticky.

' _Thank the Gods she couldn't see my eyes'_ I thought with relief.

To some people it may seem kind of redundant for someone who's blind and trying to maintain a low profile to cover their eyes with a headband attached to a metal plate with a weird symbol etched into it but I like it. Plus I feel that I carry with me the home I lost when I wear it and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I am a little self conscious about people seeing my eyes .

After what must have been an hour, at least I think it was, I fell asleep a while ago which means I _really_ was tired, wow. Anyway Sayo was still nowhere to be found and I began to worry a bit but the sound of footsteps alerted me to three approaching presence.

"Mister, Mister are you alright?" the voice of a concerned younger girl said.

I looked up but instead speaking I tilted my head in apparent silent confusion. In reality I was analyzing the situation; the girl in front of me was wearing perfume meaning that she was from a rich family, what I assume to be two men were just standing behind unmoving, guards maybe?"

"Y-yes I'm fine?" I said hesitantly. I still had no idea why a rich girl would approach me, a blind young man who dressed weird.

I heard a small giggle escape her lips followed by silence and after a while it became awkward

"U-um, are you still there?" I know she was but I had to play the part and since I know she was probably staring at my headband because her perfume and voice smelled/sounded closer, I know her next question.

"Are you blind mister?" Ah, there it is and funny enough she didn't say the question with curiosity but more like she was trying to confirm it.

"Yes I am." I said and manage to crack a small smile, a fake one.

I could hear the tiniest of gasps come from her wait was that joy?

"Don't you have anywhere to go?" her words showed anticipation

"…" I didn't do or say anything

"If you don't, you're welcome to stay at my house if you want." She was enthusiastic and I defiantly heard a small snicker coming from the soldier.

' _No! "Uuu-"_ I was trying to let her know when her murderous intent flared. I didn't even know someone who seemed to be raised a sheltered life could have such blood lust.

Granted it wasn't noticeable but with my heightened senses she might as well be saying 'I'm going to kill you slowly.'

"You don't have to worry about money" she reassured me the moment I seemed like I was going to turn her down.

I raised my hands "I-I'm sorry but I don't want to impose on your family" I tried to sound as polite a possible.

At that one of the men behind her sighed, obviously frustrated with my defiance, "Lady Aria just can't ignore people like you. You should just accept her generosity."

So he was a guard well that's one question answered. I perked up immediately when I heard Sayo and Ieyasu just down the road _'oh thank the Gods.'_

 **XXXX** Sayo's POV **XXXX**

I don't think I've ever been this angry before, all of it, Ieyasu lost _all_ of our money, the money that took weeks to gather and took a large piece of the village's budget with it. All of it gone because Ieyasu thought that some random stranger who _claimed_ to have connections was going to give him information in exchange for it.

Its stupid things like this that make people from the country seem like easy targets. I could only think what Tatsumi's going to do with him.

I sighed in frustration.

I had to spend nearly an hour with Ieyasu searching for this person who he has yet to tell me a description. Tatsumi must be worried sick right no-

I stopped when I saw a younger girl with two armed guards, Ieyasu stopped beside me looking at the scene before us suspiciously. The girl was crouching down talking to Tatsumi, she wore expensive looking clothes but what really caught my attention was the look she gave Tatsumi.

I've seen that look before, in the village when I saw a danger beast cornering a smaller animal, she was looking at Tatsumi like he was her prey.

"Ieyasu" I said

"I know" he replied seriousness in his tone.

We both began walking faster in their direction

Thinking fast I yelled the first name I thought of "TAKASHI!"

All of their heads turned to us and I didn't miss that slight irritated look the girl shot me before her expression changed to that of an innocent younger girl. I would have to thank Tatsumi's training for if it had been last year then I wouldn't even have noticed that subtle change in her expression.

"Sayako!" he caught on shouted almost too happily.

"Oh, are they friends of yours?" The girl asked. Taking a closer look she had on a lot of makeup.

"Yes we are." Ieyasu answered politely "Who are you and what do want with our little Takashi?" He ruffled Tatsumi's hair.

"Oh" she replied, I could see her disappointment. "Since your friend was all alone out here I thought he didn't have somewhere to go, so I was offering him a place to stay."

"Really?" Ieyasu perked up. "Of course we'll accept!" He proclaimed happily.

"What?" Tatsumi was shocked.

"That's great! What are your names by the way?"

Ieyasu was the one to introduce us

"You already know Takashi, she's Sayako and I'm Ibisu."

After she introduced herself as Aria she led the way while we followed, the guards were behind us the entire time.

"Why did he accept her offer?" Tatsumi whispered to me.

I sighed and glanced at Ieyasu who must have heard us because he broke out in a cold sweat. As much as I disliked them fighting I think Ieyasu deserved a bit of scolding from Tatsumi.

So with a sad expression I mouthed 'I'm sorry' to Ieyasu before replying

"Someone swindled all of our money from him."

I already regretted telling him because Tatsumi was eerily silent at first which was never a good sign. He slowly turned to Ieyasu who shifted a bit to the side

"We're going to talk later." His voice was calm and Ieyasu gulped

As we came closer to the house I couldn't help but stared wide eyed at the house. It was easily the largest home I'd ever seen second only to the royal palace, the surrounding land might as well be the entire village.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Tatsumi's grip tightened so I glanced to my side to see him frowning. That means something is wrong here and I shouldn't be distracted with my surroundings. With that thought I have an idea as to why Ieyasu would accept her offer

We came inside the house and were immediately greeted by ten servants, a butler dressed in a black tuxedo bowed before Aria

"Welcome back Lady Aria" he glanced at us "I see our young lady has new guests."

She introduced us and told the servants to give us anything that we needed, even though we still kept our guards up the experience of being wealthy was a good one. Although with the servants there was tension in the air, I looked one of them in the eye and she looked at me with pity.

Tatsumi hadn't said anything the entire time, he still had a frown and I was going to ask him about it when Aria came from the other room

"I would like to introduce you to my parents they are in the dining room."

We went inside the large dining area to find Aria's parents: an older man whose hair was grey with a refined mustache sitting with a younger middle aged woman, both of them wearing expensive clothing, the woman covered in makeup and perfume that I could smell as I entered.

There were also more guards and servants around the room attending them. As soon as we entered the man Aria's father was the first to notice us

"Oh, Aria has brought someone home again, hmm" he stroked his mustache "there are three of them this time."

"Eh, it's her habit" the mother teased "I wonder just how many this makes?"

"Mother!" Aria called out in an embarrassed tone.

I bowed lightly "thank you very much for taking us in I-"

Before I could finish the sentence Aria's father cut me off to dismiss my words

"There's no need to be so formal young lady, it's a pleasure to help those in need." He finished.

"I bet you're all hungry" the mother stated "the food will be here shortly."

We introduced ourselves shortly afterwards using our fake names of course. Ieyasu surprisingly gave a good story as to why two armed younger kids would be travelling with a blind boy. He said that we were both young warriors looking for a steady job in order to support ourselves.

Both parents praised our dedication and a single low growl escaped Tatsumi, he hated being pitied even though he was blind.

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone looking for bodyguards would you?" Ieyasu asked hopefully. It was a good question that could be for our benefit.

"I'm sorry young man, I don't know of any nobles who would be willing to hire someone as young as you two." We were all disappointed with his answer; still it was a god attempt.

Our conversation was cut short when the maid brought out a large carton of food, it was almost ridiculous how much there was.

"Please, enjoy to your heart's content, it's not like we could finish it all." He chuckled.

Ieyasu and Tatsumi didn't need any other reason; I piled food unto Tatsumi's plate and watched as they gobbled up the food. I myself enjoyed the food although I noticed that Tatsumi didn't drink the tea, in fact he pushed it farther away.

Ieyasu glanced to me at the corner of his eye for a swift second before taking a sip of the tea and spat it back in the cup.

"This tea's hot!" He proclaimed and washed it down with water.

I finally figured what Tatsumi was doing, he also had bread separated along with the tea, he was warning us about the food.

' _They must have poisoned it'_ I thought.

It would have been suspicious if we didn't eat any of the food that was poisoned but while they were preoccupied Tatsumi's hand or rather his sleeve passed over the tainted food and it vanished. It went on like this for the next half an hour, no one suspected anything.

Afterwards they tried to place us in separate bedrooms with assurance that two servant will be with Tatsumi. I was immediately against that, even if they were actually trustworthy.

"I'm sorry but we'd like to sleep in the same room." I don't like the idea of us being separated.

"Are you sure we have more than enough rooms and servants to tend for Takeshi." Aria's mother assured.

I glanced at Tatsumi, he didn't do anything, he just sat in silence and I then turned to them with resolute eyes

"I'm sure" I concluded my voice friendly yet clear of doubts.

"Don't take offense; she's just really over protective." Ieyasu spoke.

With that we shared a room for the night; the room itself was large and extravagant with three beds. The moment the doors were locked Tatsumi punched Ieyasu and he fell to floor after that I had to restrain him

"You lost the village's money, you idiot!"

It took me almost ten minutes to talk Tatsumi down from breaking anything on Ieyasu and when he was calm he was silent and the tension began to rise.

"How bad is it?" Ieyasu asked fully recovered from his beating.

"Very" Tatsumi replied.

After a sigh he began "ever since we came near the house I've picked up the scent of human corpses."

"That could mean a lot of things Tatsumi" I reassured him "this is a big estate maybe they bury their dead here. I know a lot rich nobles have been killed by Night Raid."

"Night Raid?" He asked

"Yeah I've been hearing about them a lot around the capital." Ieyasu spoke out "They're supposed to be a group of assassins."

"Oh" he replied "but back to our circumstances, Sayo" he turned to me "those people tried to poison us, thinking that they didn't have something planned for us is just wishful thinking."

He was right of course but that was just my personality, even though he's told me stories of the atrocities he's come across and warned me about the capital I've never seen any of them. I'm still just an inexperienced girl from the country literally thrown into this dark world.

"We should just steal some valuables and leave before things get out of hand." He turned to Ieyasu "that is why you accepted Aria's offer right?"

"Yeah although I didn't think they would be _this_ rich" he said in disbelief "I mean we could steal millions and they wouldn't even notice."

Tatsumi tilted his head curiously "really?"

"Oh yeah this entire land is a part of their estate, I swear it's as big as the village itself!"

"…whoa" Tatsumi said while looking up.

I couldn't help but giggle at how for all of his skill he is still just a blind boy experiencing the world just like us, only he had a head start.

"We should get some rest" I interrupted

They both nodded and we went to sleep on the beds which were made with the finest material, the sheets were silk and the stuffing for the pillows were cotton. I drifted asleep, unable to resist the soft material against my skin.

 **XXXX** Ieyasu's POV **XXXX**

I was out for maybe a few hours when someone touched me: I immediately jumped out of my sleep, brandished my dagger and aimed for the throat of whoever it was on pure reflex. I was surprised to see my hand stopped before it reached halfway by Tatsumi. My shock was gone almost immediately, only he could stop my blade like that.

"I should really teach you guys how to differentiate friends from enemy" I heard him mutter with a frown.

Taking a look at Sayo she had her face diverted, almost looking embarrassed and with what Tatsumi said I guess she responded the same way when he woke her up.

"Hurry up Ieyasu, we have a problem" Tatsumi sounded anxious.

"What's the rush wait, are they coming for us?" It would make sense if they the poison had a delayed effect, then they would send some people for us.

Tatsumi shook his head "no, not that, not anymore" Sayo and I look at him. "The smell of blood woke me up. My guess is that someone in this house died."

We were both surprised, then again these people are rich so thinking about it they would be targets for assassination. I quickly dressed and placed my twin short swords behind my waist. Sayo had her throwing knives ready along with her bow in hand with her quiver of arrows on her back.

Tatsumi stood at the door "are you two ready?" we responded "yes" "Good, we're sneaking out, I don't want to get caught up in this assassination, grab anything small and valuable along the way."

We silently ran down the hallway but stopped at the sight before us, it was Aria's mother only she was cut in half from the waist. I wasn't an expert but the cut was clean, her organs were spilled all over the floor, it wasn't a pleasant sight.

Sayo looked as if she was going to throw up, I looked back at the body and noticed a notebook on the ground. Curiosity got the best of me and from her direction it looked like she was headed for our room when she died.

*sniff* *sniff* "Aria's mother?" Tatsumi questioned

"..yes" Sayo answered morbidly.

I took up the book and flipped through the pages, the more I read her notes the more I could feel myself getting angrier. Her notebook had details of how she and her family took turns torturing unsuspecting innocent people. The mother in particular would test different poisons and inject lethal diseases into people to see their results.

"What's wrong Ieyasu" Sayo asked in her concerned voice.

I gritted my teeth and took deep breaths to calm myself and handed her the notebook after awhile I could see the shock and disgust on her face.

"They take people off the streets with false hospitality, poison them then take turns torturing them to death!" I could barely hold back my rage, this was the first time I wanted to kill someone badly.

"Whoever killed her was doing a service" Tatsumi's voice was filled with satisfaction. "Come on let's leave them to it."

I nodded and Sayo threw the book down and we both followed Tatsumi, suddenly two guards came around the corner, they froze in shock when they saw us.

"It's those kids but the mistress should have….!"

One of them looked past us at the corpse and drew his sword or at least tried, before Tatsumi threw two knives faster than I could see at their heads. Both guards lay dead on the floor, we didn't comment on his actions because we both knew if he didn't do it we would.

After sneaking around for a bit I felt this sudden unease growing in the pit of my stomach, a glance towards Sayo and I could see she was also experiencing this, Tatsumi's expression was unreadable so I have no idea what he's thinking but I'm sure he definitely sensed this before either of us.

The more we went around, I grabbed anything that could fit in my bag that was valuable which wasn't hard but the unease was still there in fact it was getting I feel like we were getting closer to one of the sources. We came across a scared Aria and a guard running, the guard gave a surprised look when he saw us but it turned to a grin

"Perfect!" he shouted "Ibisu, Sayako, hold off the intruders. I'll escort Takashi and the lady to the storehouse and wait for the imperial police to arrive."

It took all of my self control not to just cut them down then and there when we ran right up to them. Suddenly that unease I felt flared up even more I turned my head to see a girl charging at me with sword in hand. I instinctively reached for my short swords, making an 'X' I blocked her swing, we both put pressure on each other's blades to force the other down.

Taking a good look at her she seemed familiar to me: long black hair, blood red eyes her expression was darkly blank. Now I recognized her, from a wanted poster, Akame of Night Raid!

"Night Raid!?" I shouted

Her only response was a monotone "eliminate."

I instantly blocked a kick with my left guard, I stumbled back but recovered fast enough to block fierce strikes from her sword. I don't know why but something about her weapon spelled trouble, I knew that getting cut by it would be very bad.

Her attacks were fast and precise, it's clear that she was incredibly skilled and had more experience than me but I've sparred with Tatsumi and as much as she is good I felt he was better. I went on the offensive, pretty soon we were exchanging blows.

Slowly I was being pushed back, for a smaller girl she was stronger than she let on, I needed to end this fast so I did something desperate. I stepped to the side to get around her and she responded as I predicted. She stepped to the opposite side slashing at me as she did so, I flipped one of my blade so I held it in a reverse grip.

I blocked her strike with one word and used the other one to slash at her throat but then she blocked the strike with her arm guard. 'Dammit' I thought but she wasn't done yet, she grabbed my wrist to pull me closer, our blades sparked as I was dragged to her. She did a low kick and my right knee bent under the force, she then did a spinning kick to my side.

The blow was heavy and I was sent slamming against the wall a little disoriented, she charged at me to finish it but had to jump back to avoid an arrow. Her attention was diverted elsewhere as she used her sword to block incoming arrows. I used the opportunity to retreat next to Sayo

"Are you alright?" She asked not taking her eyes off the assassin.

"Yeah I'm fine" I glanced around not moving my face "where's Tatsumi?" I said that last part in a whisper.

"He left for the storehouse with Aria and the guard while you were fighting."

With that said we both turned our attention towards the Night Raid member known as Akame. Her expression didn't change in the slightest; I honestly couldn't tell if she was worried with her circumstances or if she was annoyed. I entered a stance, if she was going to attack then I would be ready and judging from Sayo's steady hands on her bow and arrow she was too.

"Akame!" I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded similar.

I turned around immediately bringing my blades up and running down the hall was…. _her!_ We both looked at each other in shock

"It's you!" we shouted simultaneously.

She looked different with longer hair and a pair of cat ears on her head? But her clothes, hair color and those **boobs** especially, gave her away!

"You know her Ieyasu?" Sayo asked.

"She' the one who scammed me out of our money" I instantly froze up. I was so caught up in the moment that I answered without thinking.

I slowly turned my head to Sayo at the same time I heard the cat girl chuckle lightly "Aww it's not my fault you were so gullible."

Sayo spared the girl a glance then she glared at me and suddenly I felt cold and a shiver ran up my spine.

"We'll talk about this later" she said and my hair went on end but enough about that

"Why are you protecting her?" I heard Akame say.

"What?" I answered

"That's a good question" the cat girl scam artiste retorted "I wouldn't peg you for protecting people like these kid."

"We aren't protecting them" Sayo remarked

"Yeah" I added "why the hell would we protect a family of freaks who torture people for fun!?"

There was an awkward silence

"Wait, wait, wait so if you guys know what they're doing and you aren't bodyguards then why the hell are you trying to stop us?" the big boobed scam artiste questioned.

"We weren't trying to stop you, in fact we were trying to sneak out so we wouldn't get caught up in your assassination when we accidentally ran into Aria and then your friend tried to kill me!" I shot back angrily.

"….oh" was her response and she relaxed.

I saw Sayo lower her bow from the corner of my eye and glanced back to see Akame lower her blade, slowly her fighting stance dropped. I lowered my blades just then we heard a loud high pitched scream from outside, Sayo and I turned to each other and one word escaped our lips

"Tatsumi" we then bolted outside with the two Night Raid members following.

We came onto a large storage house Aria was running towards us with an extremely frightened expression but we ran past her to look for Tatsumi. We opened the door completely to look for our friend and we immediately regretted that decision.

Inside the storage house were corpses hanging from the ceiling and all around all of them had clear signs of torture and some of them were strapped to torture devices. The body of the guard was there as well with one of Tatsumi's signature black throwing knife planted in his skull.

Tatsumi himself was kneeling with his back turned to us, Sayo was the first to approach him, I glanced back to see Aria backing up towards us, Akame walking slowly towards her with sword in hand. A loud gasp from Sayo alerted me, I turned back to see her kneeling alongside Tatsumi, I approached them to see what they, well, what Sayo was looking at and I gasp almost as loud as she did.

There, on the ground was the scarred body of a little girl who looked to be half my age, she was barely breathing, her skin was blackened and her left eye missing. I could almost feel tears welling up in my eyes but I shook it off and turned it to rage I gripped my blades and turned around to Aria.

Before I could though something whipped past my face and landed right in Aria's leg the girl screamed in pain and fell down clutching her leg in pain. It went by so fast I thought it was one of Tatsumi's throwing knives but I realized that it was an arrow!

I turned around just in time to see Sayo lower her bow while walking past me, Tatsumi took up the child and carried her outside while I followed him. The two members of Night Raid were shocked by the sight especially the cat girl. Not just by Sayo's action but by the state of the little girl.

Tatsumi laid the girl down and I watched as she took her last raspy breath and then nothing, I looked at Tatsumi and his frown deepened

"She's dead" he said solemnly.

I turned to look at Sayo and for the first time I saw her truly angry, her cold glare reminded me of Akame herself. She walked up to Aria completely ignoring the two assassins and pulled out her arrow, aiming it at her

"Any last words?" Her tone was absolute

Hearing this Aria's face showed fear and then to my surprise she gave Sayo a wide twisted grin then began laughing like mad woman

"I should have killed you the moment I saw your face you COUN TRY BI-"

She was cut off as another arrow pierced her throat; I stared wide eyed as Aria slowly died while choking on her own blood.

"All targets eliminated, mission accomplished" Akame said while turning to leave "let's go Leone; the imperial police might arrive soon."

' _So her name's Leone'_ I thought

"Hey wait a minute Akame" said girl turned to her comrade "we should take them with us." She exclaimed with a grin.

"Hey-"

"We should leave" I was interrupted by Tatsumi who now stood beside me. "The imperial police are approaching the front gate. We'll follow them and get our money back." He finished

"How did you-"

"Know?" he finished for me and I suddenly felt cold. "I heard your conversation inside the house." I couldn't help but gulped, I've learned that there is nothing worse than a pissed off Tatsumi.

Just then I was grabbed by the back of my collar and dragged away, I looked to my right to see that Sayo was in the same predicament which meant that Tatsumi was being dragged by _her_ as well. I was right of course, this Leone was dragging Sayo who was dragging Tatsumi and funny enough he wasn't even struggling, I looked at him and he turned to me and shrugged

' _I agree, what's the point'._

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's notes: And there it is, my super long first chapter. If you liked it post a review and I will see to getting a second one. With school now starting it's going to be a few weeks and I will be making it just as long if not longer, it's a new thing I'm trying, long satisfying chapters for long periods of wait for the next one.**


	2. Kill The New Recruits

**Chapter 2: Kill The New Recruits**

 **XXXX** Leone's POV **XXXX**

I completely ignored the kid's rants as I carried him, bridal style to meet the rest of the team. He had this adorable blush on his face and a glance at his friends smiling faces said that they enjoyed it.

"So they're finally back." I heard Braht say in his armor

"Come on, it'll be bad if we don't retreat soon" Rabac said with a pocket watch in hand.

"You're late, where have you been!?" Mein's angry expression turned confused seeing the kid in my hands.

"Who's that?"

"One of us" I replied nonchalantly.

"WHAT!?" He and the girl shouted to my confusion

"Huh, didn't I tell you?" I swore I told them I was going to take them back.

Any way I dropped him and stood in front of them along with the rest of my team and with a cheery smile said "starting from today you're one of us! Congratulations on your inauguration into Night Raid!"

There was an awkward silence amongst the three of them before the boy yelled out

"What the hell's up with that!?"

"Give it up, when Leone decides something no one can make her reconsider." Akame said in her emotionless way.

I smiled at this and patted her head "as expected of my bud, you know me well."

"Excuse me" my attention was diverted as an oddly calm voice spoke out "we're not interested in becoming assassins" I looked to see it was the boy with brown hair.

I blinked once, twice, the entire time I barely noticed he was even there, not that I didn't _know_ but he was so quiet about it I almost forgot about him. Taking a good look at him he was really odd, not just the way he looked but his presence was, off putting. Then I saw that his eyes were covered by a headband with a weird looking symbol engraved on it.

I walked straight up to him and gave him a look over, that head band covered most of the top half of his face so I couldn't get a good look at his face. Something just dawned on me up until now, the girl has been holding his hand all this time, at first I thought she was just his protective girlfriend but then something else dawned on me

"You're blind!?" I blurted out.

Weird enough the kid didn't seem fazed in fact I think I saw him smile for split second.

"Yes he is" the girl still holding his hand said, I noticed she shuffled closer and gave me a look.

"Huh" was my response.

This kid was definitely something; from what I could see back there he took that one guard out and even carried that little girl out like he could see. Hell I didn't even know he was blind, just weird but anyway

I smirked "hey Braht can you carry this kid, he's blind."

I looked down at the kid and I swear even though that thing was covering his eyes I could _feel_ him glaring at me.

"He hates it when people assume just because he's blind he needs to be helped" the boy spoke to me.

Just then Braht placed a hand on his shoulder "it's alright, that's just Leone, you'll get used to her."

He didn't turn his head away from me and after a long pause replied "fine"

After that we all headed for the base, surprisingly the two kids were keeping up with us, gotta hand it to whoever trained them, they're good.

 **XXXX** The Next Day **XXXX**

Well this is a damn fine mess I got myself into, I offer three kids a position in Night Raid and they go and screw me over. Well yeah it's partially my fault but, it's _his_ fault for being so gullible

"You have anything to say Leone?" boss was looking pissed

"Oh, come on I thought we were pass all that when I offered you all a chance to join us!" I yelled at the three kids.

"First of all you claim to fight for the weak yet you scam kids out of their life savings, exactly what kind of person does that?" He retorted.

"Yeah you tell her Tatsumi!" Ieyasu shouted

"And you" he turned to him and he instantly shrank behind Sayo "what kind of _idiot_ would give all their money to some random girl who _claims_ to have connections!" Tatsumi yelled.

The boss was glaring at me and honestly, it was scary! So I pulled all three of them together like a shield "so I was recommending these tw.." I pause to glance at Tatsumi "these three talented guys."

"Hey stop doing that!" Ieyasu shouted at me but I ignored him.

The boss glanced at them and then at me "do they show promise?"

I smiled darkly "they do"

At that she looked to be thinking it over when Sayo spoke "I'm sorry but we aren't assassins"

I grinned "you could have fooled me girly. The way you took out that girl without a hint of remorse was _exactly_ like an assassin." I glanced over at Akame's emotionless face "for a second there I thought you were Akame."

"That was different" she defended "she..she deserved it."

"Exactly" Ieyasu piped up now serious "besides, we came here in order to be successful so we can save our starving village."

"The outside villages surrounding the capital are starving **because** of the rotten capital" Braht spoke leaning against the wall "so wouldn't you want to uproot the source of the rot, as a man!"

"I understand your situation completely" the boss interrupted. "Would you three like to join Night Raid?"

I saw Ieyasu look around the room "do we have a choice?"

"Of course you do" boss replied "although should you decline, we can't let you leave since you know of our location. You would have to work as laborers in the workshop."

Before anything else is said, Tatsumi wordlessly approached the boss who looked up at him in interest ' _been there'_

"Let's get straight to the point, I'm tired of beating around the bush" his tone caught the boss off guard heck it caught _me_ off guard.

"Night Raid is basically a small unit that deals with assassinations in the capital and judging by your _modus operandi_ you are tied to the revolutionary army."

I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one looking at him wide eyed at this point but the boss recovered faster, as expected I guess.

"You're correct"

"Tell me something, what exactly is the endgame for you, Night Raid I mean, what is your goal? To usurp the throne?"

"Not exactly, that is the revolutionary army's goal. Night Raid's goal is to end the corruption in the capital at its source."

"The Prime Minister" for a blind kid he was surprisingly knowledgeable

Boss nodded "that's right, when the revolutionary army invade we'll use the confusion and **take, him, out.**

The atmosphere got heavyand I could see Sayo and Ieyasu was a little shaken by her words but Tatsumi wasn't even fazed. After letting that sink in, she continued

"There are others but I will leave them out for now but rest assured we have a plan to win and when that time comes, this country will **change**."

There was a long silence, until

"Will that new country treat its people well?" Sayo asked hesitantly.

"Of course" boss replied immediately.

"I say we join!" Ieyasu finally shouted happily and looked to Sayo who nodded solemnly.

Suddenly everyone including me was looking at Tatsumi expecting him to join his friends in a unanimous decision but what we got was a few moments of him silently glancing at his friends before

"No" it's amazing how one word could impact the room.

"What!" Ieyasu shouted confusedly

"Ieyasu, no matter how they dress it up with noble causes, what they are generally doing is murder."

Ieyasu was taken aback by this but he continued "and there is nothing noble about it and also" he glanced individually at everyone in the room as if he knew where we were "I _know_ that most of the people in this room will die."

That one hit home

"He's right" Schere spoke up

"But we're all prepared for that, are you?" Braht said next.

Ieyasu glanced at Sayo who returned a determined glare to which he turned directly to his friend

"It doesn't matter, we're in, if it's for the greater good then I don't mind getting my hands dirty."

I smiled at this, I like that kid's conviction but his friend was still unfazed no he was glancing _somewhere_ as if staring. Just to settle curiosity I turned to where he was looking and, yep it was a wall, I looked questionably at him.

"Looks like you guys have some intruders" he spoke calmly then turned to Rabac "isn't that right?"

Rabac looked just as confused as the rest of us

"What are yo-"

He didn't have time to finish when he freaked out and looked at his Teigu then at Tatsumi, shocked

"We have intruders Najenda!" he yelled out

She glanced warily at Tatsumi before calmly asking "what are their numbers and locations?"

"According to my barrier there're eight of them and" he paused "they're all close to the hideout!"

"They're good; to sniff this place out means" she took out a cigarette "they're foreign mercenaries." She lit the cigarette "no other choice then" she looked at us with all seriousness and we steeled ourselves "leave none of them alive."

I could see the two newbies a little shaken by the atmosphere before the boss yelled

"Go!"

I stuck around a bit, just to see what would happen, the two of them turned nervously to Tatsumi who sighed

"Sayo follow the sniper girl, Ieyasu go with Braht." He said calmly

Surprisingly they took his orders and stormed out, Sayo followed Mein and Ieyasu ran with Braht. I grinned, didn't need to see anything else, I activated Lionel and bolted.

 **XXXX** Najenda's POV **XXXX**

I continued to stare at the boy as they left, trying to think of what to make of him. Obviously he is no stranger to war or at least fighting from his tone. There is a certain maturity about him that can only be gained from year of experience. Judging by how his companions interact with him he must be their leader of sorts.

I cupped my chin, yes that must be it since they didn't move until he gave the order. Another thing, how did he know there were intruders skulking around our hideout even before Raback's strings were crossed?

"You're wondering how I knew there were people around your base right?" He enquired while turning to me.

Out of reflex I didn't let the surprise show on my face before mentally slapping myself. He was blind, facial expression didn't mean anything to him.

I nodded absentmindedly "that and what your relationship is your relationship with those other two are?"

He seemed to me, to mull over those words as he cupped his chin in thought while glancing up.

"It's clear that you aren't just friends with them" he glanced in my direction "I could see it, they trust you a great deal."

There was a drag of silence

"Hmmm, Akame just killed three of the intruders" he voiced more to himself than me.

"…what?" was the only thing I said with a raised eyebrow

"I'm sorry; I was just keeping my senses open to the battle outside."

' _His senses?'_ I thought

"You asked how I was able to know about them before they were able to cross your friend's strings, well all I did was listen and I heard their voices outside."

My eyes widened at this but then a thought came to mind and I blow a puff of smoke "is that the ability of your Teigu?" I asked now calmed.

His head tilted in confusion while scrounging his face "no I don't own a Teigu, in order to compensate for my blindness I trained my other senses until they are heightened to a point even higher than most animals." He paused "would you not mind smoking?"

"You expect me to believe something like that?" I was calm about it.

He simply shrugged "believe what you want to" he paused to look in a random direction "Leone, just killed her opponent"

I looked at him incredulously before sighing, the smoke leaving my breath "if you don't want to tell me your Teigu then so be it but don't make up stories to try and throw me off."

He looked to take offense to this and replied "I have something _similar_ to a Teigu, but it has nothing to do with enhancing my senses."

This got my attention, for a supposedly sharp person he's easy to rile up, guess he's still just a kid. Suddenly the tension grew tenfold, the air became thick and heavy even my breathing became labored for split second. It wasn't bloodlust or killing intent, I didn't know what to make of it, I looked at him, he was frowning, if I didn't know any better I would say he was….sad?

"Actually I take it back, I wouldn't call what I have a Teigu" with that the tension rose almost immediately followed by a weak "sorry."

I straightened myself out before taking another drag of my cigarette "Now my other question"

"Right my relationship with Sayo and Ieyasu. I like to think of them as my friends, since I travel a lot I don't stay at one place for too long. Other than that I've been training them in fighting."

Somehow that didn't surprise me, his posture seemed relaxed but I don't see any openings in it for an attack. He's good, that much is clear, by how much I'm uncertain but from what I gather he's at least strong enough to hold his own against Braht. Someone like him would be a welcomed addition to our ranks; somehow, someway I have to convince him to join us.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? The offer still stan-"

"No" he cut me off a his voice had a hint of hostility I had not expected and I winced a little

He sighed "I'm sorry, look" he began "it's not that I don't sympathize with your cause, I do, from the moment I stepped foot in the capital my senses have picked up all the pain and suffering the citizens are going through and I would love nothing more than to help you kill that fat pig of a minister but" he paused "I don't want to join Night Raid, it's a principle I have to not join a side when there is a war."

My brows furrowed "why not? If you know about everything that is happening in the capital and you're against it, why won't you help us put a stop to it?"

"For one I'm a nomad that's always on the move so I'm not inclined to join every war effort I come across in my travels whatever the cause might be."

"Secondly I don't want to be associated with a group of any kind because their enemies automatically become Mine and I would like to travel in relative peace without worrying someone is trying to kill me. This point especially since I would be making an enemy of the freaking _capital_."

"Third, I hate wars plain and simple, besides I came here to raise money for a village and nothing else, I didn't come here to fight a war that will get people killed especially since I don't necessarily have any connection to this place."

Dammit, he has a point. Wait a minute

"You won't join 'Night Raid' but if you have a reason to, will you help us?"

"If you're going to ask me to help with your assassinations then no" he answered flatly.

I grimaced at this

"But" I instantly looked at him expectantly "I would like to help Sayo and Ieyasu raise money to send to their village."

It suddenly hit me maybe there is a way for us to come to a mutual agreement.

"Tatsumi, I understand your plight but what of Sayo and Ieyasu are you just going to abandon them?"

His frown deepened "I'm not particularly worried since they can handle themselves in a fight and I **know** you don't take the lives of your members lightly."

"How can you tell? You've only known me or less for an hour." I mused with a smirk.

"As a former general you must take the lives of everyone in your troop seriously especially since you defected from this rotten empire. Everything you've said so far is the truth and somehow I find it a little farfetched that you'd defect from the capital while doing an action that would let you fit right in with the minister."

"Not just you but the members overall, you all don't seem like everyday assassins but more like a group of people from different walks of life with personality quirks drawn together by a common goal. I can honestly say that judging from the conversations I'm hearing outside, you guys are more like a family than anything else." He finished.

I am absolutely astonished by his words, clearly I underestimated this boy in more ways than one, there's no way he can be manipulated. Now that I think about it if he really wanted to he could have just left, which means he must be waiting for me to make him an offer.

With that information in mind I thought very carefully about the words before I said them, obviously he is willing to help but doesn't want to be publicly associated with us, no, the organization Night Raid or the revolutionary army.

"Alright then what if I was to personally hire you?"

This caught his attention, he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, for what reason would you hire me for? As a matter of fact **why** are you being so persistent about hiring me in the first place?" he questioned.

That's a good question, apart from his heightened senses I don't know anything about him, but if he's competent enough to train those other two then I'm assuming that despite his 'blindness' he can fight. I took one last drag of my cigarette before squishing it on the table

"For one with your heightened senses you would be invaluable for recon and I don't know how strong you are since I've never seen you fight but call me desperate at this point." I was, even though Esdese wasn't here, eventually we're going to have to fight her and any help we get from the start is much needed.

There was a long "hmm" as he thought about my proposal then he smiled

"Okay I'll work temporarily for **you** Najenda but I have some _simple_ conditions."

I nodded "name them."

"Usually I would stay at a place like this for a few days before leaving, maybe a week if there is something worth staying for."

I listened intently and understood, I wouldn't want to stay at a hostile place like the capital either if I were a nomad.

"So I will stay here for a month, only because of Sayo and Ieyasu, I figured that will be enough time to gather enough money to send to the village."

I raised an eyebrow and somehow I knew he could feel my uncertainty in his statement.

"Don't play games Najenda, you and I both know that assassins get paid highly, especially if it's a high valued target." That is true. "And you don't have to limit what I do to inside the capital either as long as it has nothing to do with Night Raid's business."

That is something I would have to think about "anything else?"

"For the remainder of their stay I'm going to continue to keep an eye on Sayo and Ieyasu, I promised their former master I would, until I deem them ready to really take care of themselves" he paused "now that they've joined Night Raid, it's going to be sooner than later."

"And finally, when I come across a new place, I like to wander around to get a good feel of it and map it to memory, so if you don't see me around you'll have to contact me."

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously as he extended his sleeve covered hand. My suspicion turned to shock as his sleeve was removed to reveal a..crow!

"KAW" "KAW" the bird sounded before hopping from his hand unto my table.

The fact that he had produced a raven in his hand from seemingly nowhere had me on edge but that was nothing compared to the…'crow' itself. It was darker than any crow I've ever seen, it's feathers were pitch black. What was even more unnerving about it were its eyes, its eyes were blood red and the more I stared at it, the more I could make out what looked like a symbol of sorts.

"This crow will be used as a means of contact."

"And you just so happened to keep a crow hidden inside your sleeve?" I commented skeptically

"No" he answered flatly "I materialized this crow in the palm of my hand using the shadow in my sleeve."

I was taken aback by his answer _'I've never heard of a Teigu that could do that! Then again there are all kinds outside the kingdom."_

"Speaking of which, you've never fully explained just what your Teigu's abilities are?"

He frowned and if I didn't know any better I would say he was irritated

"It's not a Teigu" he said devoid of any emotion

"Then what would you call this ability if it is not a Teigu, granted that you _know_ what a Teigu is?"

He sighed "they are the 48 weapons created during the reign of the first emperor in order to protect the kingdom. They used materials from legendary danger beasts and were created by the greatest scientific minds of the world. " he paused to seemingly look on the crow.

The crow looked back, then turned its attention to me

"I know this is hard to believe but my abilities are not from one of the 48 Teigu's even though it seems like it." Suddenly that unidentifiable tension came back and I swallowed a bit while listening to him.

"My power did not come from any danger beast or made by anything of science or earthly magic. It is something dark, something powerful, other worldly and it existed since before the dawn of mankind. Make no mistake Najenda I am not lying and if you truly knew just what this power came from, you would _wish_ that it was a Teigu."

"…"

He sighed and the tension lifted again "alright, because it will make you feel better and keep people from freaking out" he groaned "you can call it a Teigu…for now anyway."

I managed to calm down at this and stared at the crow "does your" I glanced up " **power** , have a name?"

"Well, since I'm the first person to have it, I decided to call it **Dark Slayer.** "

I stifled a laugh not that it made a difference

"What's wrong with the name?" he asked or more like whined.

"Nothing, nothing" I waved it off and calm down to continue "so what does 'Dark Slayer' allow you to do, other than forming animals from shadows."

He grinned at me, mischievously I might add, as if he's hoping my reaction is going to be.

"It allows me to freely control and manipulate darkness, that's the rough description of my ability but I've spent half my life refining it to broaden its abilities."

Whatever his power is, he seems adamant that it wasn't a Teigu and I will take his word for it, for now, although now I am curious as to what else he is capable of since he claimed to create what looks to me to be a living organism from nothing but his shadow

"Abilities such as?" I pressed

"Sorry but I don't kiss and tell." He replied bluntly.

I was confused "you still haven't replied to my demands, so I don't work for you which means I have no reason to tell you." He answered my unsaid question.

" _Touché_ " I smirked "alright then Tatsumi I accept your demands, as of this moment you're working for me for the next month."

"I'm in your care" he bowed lightly.

"Now as your employer, I want you to give an outline of your skills." I crossed my arms.

" **All** of them?" he replied sounding unsure.

I'm not one to pry and since he apparently won't be here that long and won't participate in the war, I suppose I don't need know **all** of his skills.

"No, I only need to know enough so I can assign you jobs."

"The standard, I can make different weapons" with a flick of his wrist a throwing knife appeared in his palms. "As you already saw, I can make organic animals" the crow "kawed" in response "I prefer to make crows though" I looked at him incredulously "it's personal." I dropped the suspicion immediately.

I asked the question that has entered my mind the moment he summoned that crow "you said that when I needed to contact you I should tell the crow. Somehow I get the impression that this is no ordinary crow."

He nodded "you're right. I made this crow, so it is an extension of myself. Whatever it knows, I know. If you need me then the crow will know and I will appear by your side."

I raised my eyebrows "oh, you make it seem as if no matter where you are you will be here if needed."

"That is exactly what I meant" he was serious and my senses felt something was off "in order for me to do that I need to connect with your shadow."

"My shadow?" I questioned, suddenly that feeling tugged at my senses and I was startled at the sight.

My shadow was being surrounded by and looked to be injected into by black shadow like tendrils. My gaze shifted to the source to see Tatsumi's shadow only there were several tendrils stretching from it. My gaze shifted back to my shadow, just in time to see the tendrils recede but somehow my shadow seemed, darker, thicker despite the light.

"It's done"

"What exactly did you do?"

"I basically marked your shadow so now I can use it as a means of travel." He finished and the crow took flight.

It circled above us before diving to the ground, I noticed a second before it hit that its shadow turned darker and it flew right through it. I grasped the fact that it was aiming to dive into its shadow and given what he just said, I turned to my own shadow just in time to see it fly out of it and perch on his shoulder.

I must admit, that is the most convenient ability an assassin could ever hope to posses. It was very frustrating that he refused to help us but it's not a complete loss.

"Is there a limit as to how many persons you can mark?" I asked hopefully.

"No, as far as I can tell, I can mark as many persons as I see fit. You want me to mark all the members of Night Raid then?"

"Yes and I also want you to monitor them on their missions and pull them out in case things don't go according to plan and their live are in danger."

He nodded sympathetically, he was right in his earlier comment, every member was like a family to me and while I have no doubts about any of their abilities as a leader I am responsible for their safety. Our activities are already known to the public, Esdese is in the north and I have no doubt that she will return after conquering it.

Hopefully I will be able to convince him to stay longer than the one month because that is when his skills will truly be needed.

"It looks like they're back" with that he walked out, I followed after him.

After a moment I heard them conversing among themselves outside. We stood side by side watching them come into view, I couldn't help but crack a small smile at the mission well done. A quick glance at Tatsumi showed that he was frowning, I could see his brow furrowed, he was angry about something.

As soon as they were within view I began walking over to have a seat so I can congratulate the new recruits. Without warning of any kind there was the sharp sound of the air being pierced I snapped my head in their direction and I saw _something_ heading in the direction of the group.

"Look out" I instinctively shouted.

I looked in Akame's direction she was surprised even if a little, she ran out while drawing Murasame but an arrow knocked the fast approaching projectile before she could draw it completely. I and everyone else except Akame glanced at Sayo with shocked expression.

The girl was stepping forward readying another arrow to fire Ieyasu stepped forward and if my judgment is correct they both looked nervous for some reason. We all decided to look at Tatsumi who was stomping in their direction with a frown.

His arm shot up and two projectiles I now recognize as throwing knives flew out of his sleeves. Sayo shot one down and Ieyasu used his sword to deflect them but it didn't stop there, Tatsumi kept stomping towards them his hands moving so rapidly it was like a blur and with each movement more of those black throwing knives flew out.

Sayo and Ieyasu blocked, dodged and deflected them easily at first but the throws became harder and faster forcing them back. In the hail of black, somehow everyone behind them was not in any form of danger. It was clear that Tatsumi was targeting Sayo and Ieyasu exclusively; it went on like this until they were standing in front just two feet from him.

They were both panting but even after all that, Tatsumi was completely fine

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT" Mein shouted stomping to try and get in front of them but was stopped by Sayo.

"It's alright Mein he does this sometimes." She gave her a reassuring smile.

"He what, tries to kill you two!?" She shouted.

At this point everyone was now near them and I also walked over eager to hear an explanation to his sudden attack. Tatsumi himself didn't seem to acknowledge Mein's question, he kept his face on Ieyasu who looked nervous.

"Good job out there Sayo, you managed to hit your target before the sniper girl could."

Mein started sputtering with a flushed cheek and an angry expression "t-that was just a lucky shot, I had to wait until..wait a minute how did you even-

"As for you Ieyasu' he completely ignored Mein's protest at being cut off "you got fooled by the enemy and hesitated for a second and almost got yourself killed."

"I-I still took him down" Ieyasu retorted

"That's because of your difference in skill but what if he was more skilled then what do you think would've happened? Even if Akame was keeping an eye on you do you think you would be alive?"

Ieyasu looked downcast and I saw Tatsumi's expression softened behind his headband.

"You guys made the decision to join a group of assassins so know this, when you have a target in your sights you take that shot or finish it. Especially with this group's targets, because I know that they _deserve_ everything that's coming to them."

There was silence and I noticed that throughout his speech his shadow was connecting to everyone else's. Only Akame and Braht seemed to notice this and it wasn't immediately, I could see the surprise on their faces but I gave an approved nod to put them at ease. It worked although they both looked warily at Tatsumi who finished his speech by congratulating them for a job well done.

Again he ignored everyone namely Mein and Rabac, Akame and Braht were still wary of him while Schere and Leone were asking Sayo and Ieyasu questions as to why he just attacked them

He walked up to me "you explain to them, I'm going to the capital."

"Alright" I nodded.

Over the course of the celebration I explained Tatsumi's role in Night Raid as well as the power of his Teigu. It would have been harder without Sayo and Ieyasu there to fill in the blanks although I learned that even they didn't know much about his powers apparently he uses it conservatively.

What truly had my attention and the attention of every member present were their claim of his strength especially after Ieyasu claimed that he would be able to beat Akame in a fight. Akame visibly jerked at his claim and Braht now seemed interested in him in more ways than one apparently.

I assigned Ieyasu with Akame, Tatsumi was right he needed to learn from an accomplished assassin he was still a little naïve it would be good for him especially the job I had in mind.

 **A Few Days Later**

 **XXXX Ieyasu's POV XXXX**

"These people are unbelievable" I grumbled

"Don't be like that Ieyasu, someone has to do it and it's not our fault that they never learned how." Sayo reassured me.

I sighed "I know but still, we've already proven ourselves, yet"

I was interrupted when everyone behind us shouted "MORE"

"WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT WE'RE BEING TREATED AS NOTHING BUT COOKS!?" I snapped

It's been a few days since we were inducted into Night Raid and the only thing the both of us have been doing is cooking the meals. Akame _claims_ to be helping us but really she's just sampling all the food we make.

Speaking of, Akame no everyone in Night Raid itself is weird. I expected there to be some fair amount of tension in the air since this is basically a group who kills people for a living but there isn't. In fact it feels more like we're apart of some weird family since everyone has a personality quirk that you wouldn't even think they're an assassin in the first place at first glance.

Leone has a drinking problem; she swindles people on a daily basis and has no problem whatsoever with saying or doing something perverted or maybe that's just with me, not that I mind. Akame, when she's not killing someone is socially awkward and is the only person who actually eats more than me, so for me her hobbies boils down to assassinations and eating.

Braht or Aniki as he wants me to call him is the coolest member out of all of them, he's as tough as nails and his training is actually _harder_ than Tatsumi's. I even heard that he took on a hundred Special Forces members at the same time which is really cool, the only problem I have with him is that he would sometimes do or say stuff that makes me question his sexual orientation. *Shudders*

Schere might actually be most odd out of the group I mean Sayo explained how she killed an enemy without remorse but I just can't see it. She's very kind and is always reading a book not to mention a little airheaded. She always managed to trip over her own two feet and mess up some of the simplest jobs.

Then there's Rabac, I used to think he was the coolest until he asked me to peak on the girls while they were bathing….of course I accepted but then we were found out and he tried to cast off the entire thing on **me**. Let's just say I haven't lived that down and am spending a lot of time away from him.

Finally there's Mein, long story short I hate her well not as much as people think but then she's the only one who hasn't accepted us no wait it's just **me**. Apparently she respects Sayo because she could rival her own skill with a sniper even though he uses a bow and arrow. I don't even know _what_ her problem is with me but every time we are in the same room she makes some snide remark and that is the catalyst for an argument.

Another thing that pisses me off is the fact that we haven't seen or heard from Tatsumi since he left to 'wander the capital.'

"Still no word from Tatsumi?" Sayo asked Najenda

She shook her head "sorry, no word" she looked at his crow which I don't think even moved from the spot since he left "but since crow is here then he hasn't abandoned you."

"Is it really safe for your friend to be roaming the capital by himself?" Schere asked "I mean, he is blind after all."

I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only giving her a questionable look right now except Sayo, she approached Schere with a smile

"You don't have to worry about Tatsumi Schere, he's strong enough to take anything the capital throws at him and deliver it tenfold."

"By the way" Leone spoke up "I kinda have an idea what he's been doing all this time." She got everyone's attention 'I've been down in the slums yesterday and there's a rumor about someone in a black cloak who saved a girl from being raped by gangsters."

"That could be anyone" Rabac asked "how are you so sure it's him?"

Leone grinned "because the witness claimed that even though a light was shining on him his features were pitch black like he was in complete-"

"Darkness" Akame finished.

"Exactly" Leone finished crossing her arms.

So that's what he's been doing, saving people huh, wandering my ass, I know you Tatsumi and even if you won't admit it you're a part of this as much as me and Sayo are.

"So Leone" Najenda cut in "do you have information on the job you received two days ago?"

With that the tension rose just like a few days ago and Leone's expression became serious. Turns out that someone in the imperial guard called Ogre the demon has been accepting bribes from an oil merchant called Gamol. Every time Gamol commits a crime Ogre would frame someone else.

Apparently after framing the client's husband he overheard them and sent a letter to our client before he was executed. It was sick, our client lost everything after that, I looked at the bag of gold on the table and I don't even want to know what she did to get this much.

I was paired with Akame and Leone for this mission, the plan was pretty simple really, while Leone and Akame ambushed Gamol I was to take out Ogre. That was the hardest part for me since I was supposed to basically appeal to him by being pitiful, so I acted like another of those groveling idiots that seem to swarm him.

I saw the look he had when I observed him, the look of someone who thinks he could do anything he wants without any fear of consequences. I don't know if Tatsumi's getting to me or because my eyes have been opened and I've seen the capital for what it really is or I'm more blood thirsty than I thought but remembering the story of the client made me want to kill this guy on the spot.

Calming myself I approached him as some stranger who wanted to talk to him private, he took one look at me and without a second thought agreed. This guy was so arrogant he didn't, no couldn't conceive the idea that I would actually be an assassin.

"Hey, this place is fine right?" he asked with folded arms

I couldn't help but smirk "yeah this place is perfect" I steeled my gaze as I drew my two blades "for your grave." I finished.

The bastard stared for a few seconds before laughing like a maniac, I wasn't fazed though, spending time around a guy reserved like Tatsumi you pick up some things. Like for instance

His laugh turned to chuckles as he slowly drew his sword "I knew something was wrong the moment you approached me" he grinned and honestly the guy didn't even _look_ human anymore.

"You're an assassin aren't you?" "

Like I mentioned you pick up some things when you're around a guy like Tatsumi and I'm talking about people who are naturally observant because I ain't one of them. I figured out recently how Tatsumi didn't talk much, at first I just thought he was shy or just socially awkward

"I see, you're part of that Night Raid group"

I was wrong, he was surprisingly sociable in fact he even played along with some of my jokes and we goof around when he wasn't training us. Yet he never actually spoke offhandedly or initiate a conversation unless it was important or if we asked a question or if he _feels_ we wanted to ask something.

"Who hired you to try and kill me?"

Akame was the same but she really is just socially awkward while Tatsumi deliberately doesn't speak. I off singlehandedly mentioned how he doesn't talk much one day and you know what he said

"Was it that bitch fiancée of the guy that was executed the other day?"

I gripped my blades tighter.

He went into a stance "I knew I should have had her killed along with as an accomplice-"

I drowned him out remembering what Tatsumi told me _'Ieyasu, I don't talk much because when you don't talk you learn a lot more about the people around you.'_ "

He entered a stance "first I'll have to find her then arrest her family as criminals and let her watch as they are all executed"

I listened to every, single, word he said and I can say I learn that I will not regret killing this son of a bitch. Without a single word I closed the distance, judging by the look on his face he didn't expect me to be so fast, sucks for him. He blocked my first blade but I used the second one to slash across his chest.

To my surprise he got pissed and swung hard, so hard that even using both swords to block I was still sent a few meters back, I pushed off my hands and looked at him with some surprise. I know from his build that he was strong but that was just, wow.

I smirked "so you gonna take this seriously then? Good I would hate to have to kill an animal if it never even put up a fight." I spun the swords in my hand lazily saying this.

"Animal" he snarled "who do you think I am? I am Ogre the demon, I pass judgment unto others, DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUDGE ME!" he screamed.

My smirk was gone "damn right I do" I said right before we went at each other at top speed.

At the last minute I held both swords in front of my face in an 'X' shape. Just as I expected his downward swing was heavy, so heavy that my knees buckled as I felt the vibrations run through my body followed by the sound of shattered stone under my feet.

I could see his grinning face met my struggling one as he used his strength to force me down, trying to break my guard and cut me down the middle. In the middle of the struggle I smirked and his face fell when I used _my_ strength to force his sword to the side. I one fluid movement I dashed forward with both blades cutting through his neck and the part of his torso not covered by armor.

I spun to bring myself to a stop and looked over my work, Ogre was in three pieces and his head showed his surprise. I spat on his face, wiped the blood off my blades before sheathing them, I pulled up my hood and walked out of the alleyway.

' _No witnesses, good. Now I just have to make a report. That is going to be such a pain.'_ I commented thoughtfully.

"I wonder what Tatsumi's been doing right now"

Later at Night Raid's Headquarters….

When I got back to base the boss congratulated me on a job well done aaaand I couldn't help but gloat to Akame

"See that Akame, I finished the job, without a scratch and gave my report" I said with a smug grin "so what'd you think"

I opened my eyes when she started trying to take my shirt off

"Whoa, what the hell!?" I yelled completely confused

"Leone, Boss, hold him down"

Leone snickered "you got it"

"Understood" boss replied running for me

After they tripped me down I let out an embarrassed girlish scream while covering myself…..I don't know why so don't ask.

"Thank goodness" Akame said with a pleasant smile

I regained some composure to voice a "huh?"

"I knew people who died by poisons because they wanted to act tough and not report any injuries."

"Oh sorry, I misunderstood" I began a little ashamed

"It's alright" she replied not losing her smile "from here on, please continue to come back alive."

I scoffed playfully "like you even need to ask, I'd do that even if you didn't say anything." I replied enthusiastically.

I heard Leone's snickered get even louder "you say all that with a straight face while half naked.."

"H-hey shut up!" I retorted more than a little ticked "Who the hell do you think stripped me in the first place!"

I looked around "by the way, where's Sayo?"

"She's in town with Mein" Najenda answered

"Never thought there'd be a day where Mein would accept someone so fast." Leone added, cupping her chin while looking up as if in thought.

"It's respect"

"What'd you mean boss?"

"You know how she's always bragging about being a 'genius sniper,' well from the report of the attempted infiltration, Sayo out sniped her with a bow and arrow. Let's just say Mein was a little humbled by her."

I began laughing "serves her right" my expression became serious "that's what she gets for over estimating herself while making assumptions about Sayo's skills without any solid facts."

I guess they didn't expect me to say something so profound since they were all giving me weird looks

I shrugged "what? It's true."

"Yeah no, you have a point but hearing it from your mouth threw us off" Leone said giving me a look of slight disbelief.

"Did Tatsumi teach you that?" Akame asked me, she looked interested.

"Yeah he did, hell if it weren't for him we'd be dead already." I said reminiscing about the first time we actually met.

Before I knew it Leone wrapped her arm around my shoulder, her boobs so dangerously close to my face

"So, tell your big sister, how strong is he really?" she asked with a smirk and her eyes looked predatory. I looked around, boss and to a degree even Akame seemed interested.

Thinking about it "I have no idea" I replied after a few seconds.

"…what's that suppose to mean?" Leone asked confused.

"Like I said I have no idea how strong he actually is. The entire time we were training he's never so much as broken a sweat and don't even ask us about his power because outside of using as some means of convenience like making small weapons he never uses it."

"Well that sucks, I was hoping to have a fight the next time I see him."

"I will say this though sis" I cut in "I know you're strong and I've tangled with Akame before so I get that she's strong too" I glanced at her expressionless face "but I have this feeling in my gut that you guys wouldn't be able to beat him even if you were to attack at the same time."

There was a silence before Leone started chuckling "that just makes me want to fight him even _more_ " she grinned predatorily "you too right Akame?" She nodded slowly.

Unknowing to them crow watched the entire scene unfold before its red eyes

 _Meanwhile_

Tatsumi smirked as he sat atop the roof of Night Raid, seemingly looking at the full moon.

To Be Continued.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I will admit to one of the biggest gripes with writing this story is getting the names right. I mean I used the Japanese names first but then had to change it to the European names GAWD. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter honestly I didn't expect it to be so popular so fast.**


	3. Kill The Retribution

**Author's Notes: You know, sometimes I wonder why I give my chapters titles. From my understanding you name a chapter to dictate what that particular chapter is about but since the word quota for my fanfic is over 8000 it will obviously cover some important plot details in the series but oh well, here is the next chapter.**

 **On another Note, this will be the second time I released a chapter after two weeks. I've said it before but don't expect this every time but since I already wrote this a few weeks ago I decided that you have all suffered enough.**

 **Weird, I started this fic on a whim after reading a Akame Ga Kill/ Naruto crossover fic where Itachi is in the Akame Ga Kill world. Then I thought what if Tatsumi was like that and then I thought nah that's too boring but yeah I loosely based Tatsumi's attitude and power off of Itachi Uchia. In fact I never said this before but think of Tatsumi's outfit as the Akatsuki outfit without the flower patterns and has a hood, also he doesn't have that white, socks thing on their feet instead his pants stopat his ankles while his sandals reach just above them.**

 **Well that is all for my rant enjoy this chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Kill The Retribution**

 **XXXX** Sayo's POV **XXXX**

It has been two days since Ieyasu killed Ogre, during that time we haven't seen or heard from Tatsumi which makes it almost 10 days since he just up and left. I know I shouldn't but I can't help but wonder and be worried about what he's doing, Leone told us before how he's apparently been saving people all around the city but still, no contact from him has me skeptical.

 _Especially_ since I am face to face with one of the most horrifying sites I've ever seen since Aria's storehouse. There were men and women with amputated parts nailed to crosses for the public to see and the worst part was that they were alive but slowly dying.

"This is a normal thing for the capital, how!?" I asked disgusted and mortified.

"It's the minister" Mein began "it was thanks to the minister's shrewdness that the current Emperor won the election and it is because he approves of it is the reason they're up there."

She glanced at my horrified expression "you'll have to get use to seeing things like this" she turned around and began to walk away.

I spared another glance on the unfortunate souls before following, the sun was about to set, we were on our way to the next job. The request was to assassinate the prime minister's cousin, Iwokaru, apparently he abducts girls from the capital and beats them to death. His five bodyguards also share his guilt so each of them is a target as well.

"Sorry I won't be able assist you" I apologized "we're too far for my bow to be of any use."

She scoffed "oh please, even if we were close enough, I still wouldn't need your 'assistance' so why don't you sit back and let this genius handle it."

My eye twitched, I can understand Mein has confidence in her skills but the way she keeps rubbing it in my face just makes me think the worst of her.

"He's here"

I looked out through the spy glass and there he is, surrounded by his bodyguards and…

"Wait, you can't attack, he's surrounded by innocent girls right now."

"So what?"

"So what!? Are you telling me you're willing to risk their lives?"

She just smirked before firing her Teigu Pumpkin; the beam was sent in straight line lighting up the sky and to my surprise it hit Iwokaru dead center through his head. I was taken aback by her precision and even though it irks me to admit she really is

"..a genius sniper you know" she spoke my mind.

I looked at her and she was grinning smugly at me, I rolled my eyes at her but acknowledged her skill with a smile.

The rest of the mission went off smoothly after Iwokaru died; the others took out his bodyguards including the one who broke off from the pack and was headed towards us. Afterwards we returned home.

The next day Mein was helping me with practicing my marksmanship when Ieyasu ran out

"Tatsumi's back!" Ieyasu shouted to me while I in the middle of firing my bow.

I shot the arrow while looking at him, I glanced to see that it hit the bullseye. I turned to see Mein's shocked expression and grinned at her before running with Ieyasu to where my previously missing friend was. I ran in just in time to see him walk inside the room, Najenda was also their along with everyone else in a loose semi circle.

"Hi, Sayo, Ieyasu" he greeted casually.

I could feel a vein pop on my forehead, my fists clenched and gritted my teeth, I couldn't help but feel angry at his casual greeting, so I stomped over and grabbed him by the collar

"Hi!? Hi!? You've been missing for almost two weeks now, do you have any idea how worried I was and now you come here and all you say is **HI**!" I shouted.

There was silence the only thing being heard was the sound of Ieyasu, Mein and Leone snickering, Rabac was grumbling something while Schere was stifling her giggles. Tatsumi looked unfazed but from his raised eyebrows I could tell that he was at least surprised.

"Uuuum, I'm sorry?"

"SORRY!?" I shouted again "what have you been doing all this time and I want the truth."

"….Sayo"

"Yes?"

"Can you please let go of me before _people_ start getting the wrong idea" he jerked his head towards Leone who waggled her eyebrows and gave a knowing smirk.

I felt my face get warm and dropped Tatsumi while backing away; I held my head down so my bangs covered my face.

"Thank you" he said not at all affected. "Now this entire time I was going around the capital creating a mental map of the place."

"Why?" Schere asked curiously.

Tatsumi glanced at her for a full ten seconds before answering "for one I'm blind, so if anyone tells me to go somewhere I can get there without an escort."

"Oh" she said completely oblivious to the mild insult, Rabac and Ieyasu sweat dropped.

" _Anyway_ I've been cleaning up a bit, in between my wanderings which in case you're wondering is almost every 30 minutes. You wouldn't believe how often I come across trash." His tone was harsh.

"That's the capital for ya" Leone commented.

"You know you can't save everyone right?" Braht questioned.

"I do and I'm not naïve enough to believe that what I'm doing is going to make a difference in the big picture however, I like to take a proactive approach unlike you guys."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Mein questioned angrily.

"It means that instead of lounging around here waiting for the next job to come like you guys, I would rather be out there."

"Doesn't that conflict with what you just said earlier, you're actions suggest that you think you can everyone" Akame said in her monotone voice.

"Hmmmm, really? Well thinking about it, it really does doesn't it?" He wondered. "Anyway the **real** reason I did it is because if I'm going to stay here I might as well make it less depressing for the people."

He turned towards Najenda "not to criticize but you guys may be quelling the corruption a bit but the people of the capital are still miserable, especially the poor one's that are taken advantage of, they need something for them to carry on."

"And you're that something?" she questioned

He shrugged "not really, but it never hurts for them to have peace of mind right? If you guys want to reclaim the capital then wouldn't it be better for the scum who make the capital what it is to think twice before they do something."

"I thought you said you wouldn't help us"

"I'm not" he began "I'm helping the innocent people caught in the middle of yours and the minister's war. It just coincidentally helps you in the end, why is it that the safety of the populace is almost always overlooked by you guys? Don't answer that."

"Why are you here again?" Rabac questioned slightly annoyed.

"Oh right" he held out his hand and gave Najenda something.

Najenda's eyes widened and her cigarette dropped as her mouth widened "t-t-this is.." her eyes snapped to Tatsumi who tilted his head "where did you get this?" she asked.

"Some crazy idiot who tried to kill me last night" he answered bluntly

Najenda could only stare at him while Rabac who was at her side glanced at the object in hand

"Is that a Teigu?" he questioned

Najenda nodded "where did you get it?"

Tatsumi frowned "like I said before, from some crazy idiot who tried to kill me." He answered a bit frustrated

"I want a name" Najenda demanded

Tatsumi was silent for while until he spoke "Zank, he said his name was Zank."

"Wait, as in Zank the beheader?!" Braht questioned.

"That's the guy" Tatsumi stated simply.

"Who is he?" I questioned

"You really are a country bumpkin if you don't know that guy." Mein commented and I could feel a tick mark appear on my head.

"Excuse me but I don't know who that is either" Schere spoke out.

"I'm pretty sure you just forgot Schere" Mein assured

Ieyasu crossed his arms "well spit it out flat chest, who was this guy" he immediately ducked a projectile tossed by Mein.

"I'm kinda curious too" Tatsumi said

After calming down Mein began "Zank the beheader was an executioner for the Empire's greatest prison, there were many people to be executed. After so many years it became a habit that he couldn't stop."

"That is disgusting" Ieyasu commented. I nodded in agreement to that.

"Anyway" Mein continued irritated "executing prisoners wasn't enough for him so he became a serial killer."

"He disappeared right around the time they sent a detainment squad after him. He even stole the warden's Teigu and since you have then that means."

"Yeah, I killed him" Tatsumi finished

"I want details" Najenda demanded

"There's really not much to tell: last night I was doing my nightly stroll when I picked up the sounds of screaming followed by the smell of blood. I went to investigate and heard a woman begging for her life then Zank said….."

* * *

 _ **XXXX**_ _Tatsumi's POV_ _ **XXXX**_

 _Last Night…._

" _Really, you would be willing to do anything I ask?"_

" _Yes! I will, I'll do it! Please!" the woman screamed._

" _What if I-"_

 _Zank didn't even finish his sentence as my foot collided with his face, I heard his nose break under the impact followed by the sound of his body smashing against the wall._

 _I turned to the scared woman "excuse me miss but can you get the imperial guard and tell them to come retrieve the corpse of crazy serial killer?"_

 _The only thing I heard from her was the sound of her rapidly beating heart so I clapped my hand in front of her face to snap her out of it._

" _Miss, get the imperial guards,_ _ **now**_ _" I told her again and this time she got up and ran._

" _Who are you?"Zank asked._

 _I replied "it doesn't matter who I am, what matter is that I'm going to kill you."_

 _He started laughing "HAPPY~ HAPPY~ you're a killer aren't you?" he asked and I heard the sound of clothes being tossed aside._

" _You're right, it is dumb of me to ask if you're a killer if you said you were going to kill me." He said._

 _I never did answer his question so that would mean_

" _You are correct" he answered "I am reading your thoughts."_

" _You're using a Teigu" I didn't ask so much I stated an obvious fact._

" _That's right, my Teigu Spectator, one of the five sight abilities 'insight' allows me to read your thoughts by using your facial expression, body language and stuff like that."_

" _Is that so?" I thought out loud "but can_ _ **your**_ _body keep up with the speed necessary to dodge my attacks after you predict them?"_

" _What-" before he could speak I used my superior speed to punch him in the face, I broke his cheek bone and sent two of his teeth flying out._

" _I guess not" I commented._

 _Zank must have been desperate because he started giving me wild slashes but I dodged each and every one of them. I kept hitting faster and harder until one solid punch he tried to block ended up breaking his left arm. A low kick to his knee broke it with a sickening *CRUNCH* and I finished by kicking him again into the wall._

 _After he couldn't fight anymore he started rambling on about if I knew how to deal with the dead voices of all the people he's killed in his head. I drowned out whatever he said and ripped off the Teigu from his forehead and slit his throat so he died slowly._

* * *

Present Day

"Since I don't have a use for a TeiguI came here." I finished

Suddenly everyone was quiet and I had an idea as to why but I might as well ask "why is everyone so quiet?"

"You expect us to believe a story like that!?" That was the sniper girl if I got that right.

I frowned "you can believe what you want; I wasn't trying to impress **you**." I stated bluntly and listened to sound of her growling before continuing "I told you all how I got that Teigu" I pointed at Najenda "I'm sorry if it wasn't some dramatic fight but honestly I really was on my way to sleep somewhere when I heard that guy killing someone while singing and it pissed me off so I made it quick by beating him down and taking the Teigu. I have no idea what more you want me to say."

"I've got one" that sounded like the cat girl

"What?"

"How strong are you, really?" I could hear the excitement in her voice.

' _Is she serious?'_ I thought honestly.

I sighed "so you're one of _those_ people, why am I not surprised?"

"Aw come on, just answer the question" she sounded playful.

I sighed _'honestly, from what I've gathered about everyone in this room, it would take all of you combined for me to actually take you serious and by that I meant actually using my power for something other than making weapons'_ was the first thought that came to mind.

Instead I answered "If the question you're asking is 'if I can beat you in a fight' then the answer is yes."

"Oh, is that so? How 'bout you back up those words then?" I heard her crack her knuckles.

For a reply I wordlessly walked away "hey where are ya going?" she asked

"I don't fight people for kicks" I deadpanned.

"Hey-"

"Leone, let him go" I heard Najenda say.

"Tatsumi wait" this time it was Sayo and she was running towards me.

I stopped and turned my head in her direction "what is it Sayo?"

"You just arrived, why are you leaving already?"

I sighed; the truth is I don't want to stay here because they seem like nice people, like her and Ieyasu, even the annoying sniper. If I stay here then I'd feel some connection with them and if, no, _when_ one of them dies I don't think I'll be able to deal with the grief. So for now I'd like to avoid as much contact with them for the duration of the month as possible.

"I don't really have a reason to stay here Sayo" I answered.

"W-what, but what me and Ieyasu?"

"You guys seem to be doing fine with Night Raid as far as I can tell" I answered honestly.

"Tatsumi" I held up my hand for her to stop

"Sayo, I trained you and Ieyasu to defend yourselves because that is what your old master wanted, he didn't say anything about teaching you how to assassinate people." I paused to let that message sink in before continuing "we're still friends Sayo but I don't want to stick around, it's just going to be harder when I leave in the next 15 days." I finished solemnly.

There was a long silence before I was pulled into a hug "okay, I understand." I could hear her voice break a bit but didn't smell any tears. Sayo's stronger now.

We parted and I began walking away but not before I heard Sayo shout "be careful!" I waved her off. As I felt the coolness of the shade in between the trees I jumped through its shadow and ended up in an alleyway in the capital.

I exited the alleyway and did what I always do, wander around aimlessly while taking in everything with my four senses. I also have a crow, separate from the one at Night Raid's location, shadowing my movements. It's not as if I can see through its eyes but anything it does 'see' I can automatically understand. I like to think of it as our brains being connected. For example I can't picture colors but through the crow's eyes I can _understand_ what color something is.

I don't _need_ the crow to maneuver my way around though; I use it in order to pinpoint suspicious people. In a place like this there are many people who have learned to mask themselves as ordinary citizens and since I'm in a business district filled with many people even I can miss someone. Believe it or not it is difficult for a blind person to casually maneuver his way through a large crowd while keeping his senses tuned in to everyone within a hundred meter radius trying to pick out the few who are up to no good.

I've been walking around for a while now; nothing suspicious but then again, they usually show themselves at night. I started thinking to myself; just what am I suppose to do now? This is one of the reasons why I don't stay at a place for too long unless it's for something worthwhile.

"Boring, this is getting boring~" I said to myself.

For a city as crime ridden as this one is, it amazes me how completely boring it is right now, aside from some mumbling no one actually takes notice of my foreign presence. I wish I was in the forest right now, it's peaceful, quiet and the occasional attack from a danger beast alleviates the boredom, which reminds me

"I wonder where I'm going go next after I leave the capital" I asked myself "let's see, I've been in the tropics, crossed a desert, walked over the ocean, hmm, I got it" I snapped my fingers "I've never felt snow before, so I'll head North."

I nodded in agreement with the idea, that is, until I realized _who_ is in the North right now and since _she_ and her army are fighting the Northern forces then chances are there is no longer _a_ North anymore. That sucks, that really sucks and I've never felt snow before…!

I stopped in my tracks, Crow picked up something suspicious, three girls all dressed like they're from the country being led into a building. I decided to investigate the building, crow perched on my shoulder as soon as I was just outside. Filtering out all the outside noises I focused on the building and I heard screaming and that was enough for me to act.

 **XXXX** Air's POV **XXXX**

"W-why are you doing such terrible things?" I asked desperately.

They broke bought of Fal's legs and gouged out Luna's eyes. They stripped me naked and one of them said that he's going to let a d-dog rape me.

"Well that's because it gets me money" he, the man who bought us from our village, Bach, was still smiling calmly, like this is all a joke! "And there are always substitutes for country dwellers after all."

Another man released the dog and it came running towards me while everyone laughed, I screamed and then

"Kaw" *CRASH* "KawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKawKaw"

There was a loud noise and the entire room was flooded with birds, black birds..no they were crows and they attacked the dog first, I watched them peck it to death. I looked around the room but there were so many I could barely see anything in front of me. The crows killed the ones who held Luna and pecked their eyes out making her fall to the ground.

The screaming got worse and the crows started circling them so fast that the only thing I could see is a huge black ball. I was so scared that I couldn't move, I didn't blink and after a while the screaming stopped. The crows didn't stop circling but their numbers were getting smaller, the more they did, the more I could see.

*Gasp* blood, the only thing I could see was blood, it was everywhere: the ground, the walls, the ceiling, I didn't see any bodies just…blood.

The crows became smaller and smaller in numbers until they came together and for a moment they became nothing but black and then standing where they were, was a…..boy. I watched in disbelief as a group of crows transformed into a boy.

The boy had short brown hair with his bangs framing his face; his eyes were covered by something tied around his face, it had a metal plate with a symbol on it. He wore a long black coat; the sleeves were longer than his arms.

I trembled as he walked closer towards me, then turned and walked towards Luna. She was still holding her left eye, blood was leaking out of it, I could see she was still crying from the tears in her other eye. He stopped in front of her and picked up the thing they used to pull her eye out, it still had her eye on it he held it and pulled the eye out before it disappeared under his sleeves.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner" h-he apologized?

Luna whimpered but then he put his hand over her injured eye and she passed out in his arms. He carried her over towards me and kneeled down to lay her down

"I stopped the bleeding" he said

"I-I…" I couldn't form words.

"Can you put some clothes on" he spoke

I looked down and covered myself in embarrassment when I realized I was still naked. I looked up at him and he tilted his head like he was confused.

"y-yo-you s-stay aw-ay fr-om her y-you bastard." A voice said to my side

I looked to see Fal on the ground, her legs were twisted and tears were in her eyes but that didn't stop her from glaring at him.

"You don't need to worry" he tapped the metal plate covering his eyes "I'm blind so I cover my eyes, besides" he got up "you're not in a position to give me orders." He finished

"Sc-Screw you!" she managed to shout out shakily.

He walked over towards her and kneeled down "your legs are broken" he pointed at Luna "your friend lost one of her eyes, you both need medical attention and your friend can't carry both of you not to mention that you don't have any money to pay for a healer."

Fal looked at me then Luna and gritted her teeth.

"What's your name?" he asked her

"…..Fal"

"Well Fal, my name is Tatsumi" he smiled, Fal and I were taken aback by this "would you like me to help you?"

Fal glanced at me and I nodded weakly, she glanced back at Tatsumi "yes please" she said hesitantly.

"Alright then" he put his hand on her head and she passed out.

"What did you do?" I asked worriedly.

"I had to knock her out so I could set her bones in place" he put both his hands on her twisted legs "by the way, are you dressed?"

I felt my face get warm before I frantically put on my pink raincoat. I glanced at him and gasped, his hands, something that looked like black ink came from them and covered her legs.

"What are you doing!?" I yelled.

He glanced at me "calm down, like I said before, I'm setting her legs in place without causing her any pain."

"B-but" I pointed a shaky finger at _it_.

He sighed "this is just my power. How do you think I stopped you friend's bleeding?"

At that realization I dropped to my knees before Luna, her hood was covering her face, I raised the hood and gasp again. Luna's left eye was surrounded by that black ink coming from his hands.

"What're your names?" I glanced at him but he was still letting out that black ink on Fal's legs.

"M-my name is Air a–and she's Luna."

"Okay Air, why were you with these men."

"W-we were sold off as servants by our village"

"What, why!?" I jumped at how loud his voice became. He sounded really upset

"Because of poverty from high taxation by the capital our village sells their children" I answered timidly.

"Oh" was his response. He seemed to calm down "so one of those dogs bought you from your village then?"

I nodded "yes"

"How old are you?"

"We're all 16 years old" I answered.

There was silence for a while "I'm 18" he finally said.

We didn't say anything to each other for a few more minutes, so I looked around at what was left of the men who hurt my friends. I still couldn't believe what he did, _how_ he even did it.

"I'm finished" he stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

I ran towards Fal, her legs looked as if they were never even broken. I touched her legs, still not believing what I see.

"Here" I looked up to see his arms outstretched with some brown pouches.

"What are those?"

"This is all the money I took from those scum" his thumb pointed to the blood splattered across half of the room. "Use this to return to your village, leave the capital as you can see it's not a place for three young girls from the country."

I glanced at the pouches then at him and lowered my head trembling

"Why…"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you helping us?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow "I'm helping you because it's the right thing to do. What kind of a human being would I be if I heard three girls being tortured and **not** do something to help them?" He answered. "Crow"

Just then a crow flew over to his shoulder from out of nowhere.

"Find an inn for us to stay"

"Kaw" it then flew away.

Tatsumi held Fal in his arms and turned to me "grab Luna, we're going to an inn." He began walking away and I put Luna's arm across my shoulders to carry her away.

While we were walking outside I saw puddles of red across the yard

"They were security hired by the dogs" he mentioned without looking at me.

I didn't say anything for the rest of the journey.

 **XXXX** Sayo's POV **XXXX**

I was partnered with Leone to investigate a job in the red light district but that was a few hours away into the night so she decided to take me on a tour. It turns out that Leone is pretty well known around the area we went so when everyone heard she was around, that's when things got out of hand.

And so here we are both running for dear life

"I'LL HAVE YOU PAY YOUR DRINKING BILL!"

"IT'S TIME TO SETTLE YOUR GAMBLING DEBTS!"

"I WANT THE MONEY YOU SCAMMED OFF MY BROTHER!"

Out of nowhere these three men started chasing us or rather Leone but since I'm with her they don't make any distinction. And so we've been running for the past 10 minutes but after turning some corners I didn't hear them anymore

"Leone I think we lost them" I turned to see she was nowhere in sight and come to think of it where was I?

"I'm lost" I grabbed my head in panic _'and we have a job to do tonight!'_ I mentally screamed.

"My justice sense is tingling" I heard a feminine voice say behind me "you there, can I help you with something?"

I turned around to see a younger girl wearing a uniform, she had a leash attached to the tiniest dog I've ever seen. Wait where have I seen it before?

"Those clothes.." I trailed off

"I am Seiryuu of the capital guard forces" she saluted and the dog stood on its tiny legs and did a salute too.

I had to stop myself from gushing at how cute it was, no, I won't be fooled. She's from the same guard squad that Ogre was in and if there's anything I've learned from this place it's that you never judge a book by its cover. With that in mind I pointed to the dog

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what is that?"

She picked him up "he's the Teigu Hecatonchires, but don't worry he's harmless to all except for those who embrace evil."

Now I knew where I've _it_ before, it was written in that book of Teigu Najenda gave us.

"By the way, what seems to be the problem?" she asked

"Ah, I was supposed to meet my friend at a local bar but it seems that I've lost my way." I said nervously, it was still embarrassing "I know the name of the bar but I don't know the way."

"We can't have that!" she exclaimed "come with me, I will show the way while I'm on patrol."

With that I followed the strange girl after telling her the name of the bar. We arrived in a few minutes; turns out I wasn't that far from it as I thought. After meeting Leone who I had to stop from getting drunk we made it to a roof overlooking the red light district.

It was a curious sight of mostly old or older men with younger women. After taking in the sight Leone piped up

"Okay then, time to work, I've got debts to pay" with that she activated her Teigu, Lionel.

Seeing her Teigu activate like that was impressive but before I could regain my composure she lifted me under her arms and ran across the roofs so fast I almost threw up from motion sickness. Once we were above the ceiling of the target's building I immediately started gasping for air in an attempt to calm my stomach.

Fortunately it worked and I didn't throw up. I scowled at Leone and I could feel a tick mark

"That's what you meant by 'sneak in'?"

Leone ignored me and instead told me to "hurry up and get over here"

I gave her a deadpanned expression, _'at least she doesn't mean anything by it'_ I thought.

She lifted up one of the ceiling pane for us to look down. I had to cover my nose and mouth the moment I looked over. The first thing that hit me was the _smell_ , inside the room was something sending out some form of steam, definitely drugs.

The women all wore loose fitting kimonos and they moved sluggish. Two men came in, one wearing an eyepatch, they both wore business suites. A girl crawled on to them and the one without an eyepatch smacked her across the face. I gripped my bow at that and I could feel Leone's anger from where I sat

"Those guys are the one the contract specified, **Unforgivable**!" I growled.

"That girl he just hit, was someone I knew from the slums." We both stood up.

"They make me sick!" Leone said cracking her knuckles "let's put them out of business!"

"With pleasure" I replied darkly.

* * *

We crashed through the ceiling while they were surrounded by their bodyguards. They sent their bodyguards after us, I drew three bows from my quiver and shot three arrows at the same time through their skulls.

Leone took care of the rest by beating them half to death with her punches then a spin kick sent the last four smashing against the wall where they lay dead. I saw the one who hit that girl from before point a gun at us.

I closed the distance between us in seconds and reached for the dagger Tatsumi gave me and said "you can beg the King of hell for forgiveness" before cutting his head off.

The boss was all alone now and Leone held him by the neck before delivering a punch so strong that it tore a hole through his stomach.

Despite the grim nature of our jobs and what we just did I couldn't help but feels a sense of accomplishment afterwards. I just **know** that we did something good and it was cause for a celebration at least that's what Leone thinks because as soon as we were out of the red light district she roped an arm around me and started dragging me to the nearest bar.

I sighed, she told me that it's for completing my very first mission without a hitch but knowing her she was just looking for an excuse to go drinking but before we made it around the corner

"Hey there she is, it's Leone!" We both turned back to see one of the three guys chasing us from earlier.

I could tell that both of our faces twisted in horror when around twelve other pissed off people rounded the corner behind him. I deadpanned at Leone who laughed nervously before shouting

"Run!"

And so the chase continues.

* * *

 **XXXX** Ieyasu's POV **XXXX**

I've spent most of the day training with Schere before she had to leave on a job with Mein, since she doesn't have a job around the base. I learned that even though she's a bit, okay _really_ airheaded and doesn't seem to fit with everyone else, even she has her reasons for joining Night Raid. Leone took Sayo out for a job in the capital, while Rabac, Braht, Akame and Najenda were busy researching what that new Teigu Tatsumi brought can do. The only thing he got from Zank, before he killed him, was that it can read minds and predict the future, sort of.

After hours of back breaking training from Schere that would make Tatsumi proud, Schere went off with Mein to kill some guy name Chibul. Spending the weeks with assassins have sort of desensitized me to the whole idea of taking a life.

Anyway, boss, Akame, Braht and Rabac had me placed in front of the Teigu called Spectator.

"Ieyasu, the Teigu Tatsumi took from Zank, I want you to try and use it" boss told me

I was wide eyed "seriously, no one else wants it" I asked

Braht spoke first "it's one Teigu per person"

"It's because it takes a lot of physical and mental strength to control them" Rabac added.

I paused hearing this but grinned anyway, it may not be the coolest I've ever seen but I guess it has some pretty cool abilities. I put the eye on my forehead as instructed.

"There was nothing about it written in the book we have but I'm curious as to some of its abilities" boss informed me.

Akame seemed excited, if you could call it that, I saw a sparkle in her eyes yet her expression was still indifferent.

"It has the abilities to read minds right?" she asked a little giddily "try reading mine."

"Okay, you want to eat meat for dinner" I said dramatically

"Exactly, that's amazing!" she replied.

Truth is I didn't even use the Teigu, it was just a guess.

"Hmm, try using one of the other abilities" boss said standing in front of me with Akame.

I closed my eyes _'alright one of the other unknown abilities, Activate'_ I could feel something happening and my eyes snapped open to see, **Nirvana**.

There standing right in front of me was the boss and Akame in nothing but their underwear. My mouth dropped, I couldn't stop staring at _them_.

"Ieyasu" boss leaned down to make eye contact "what's wrong, what do you see?"

 _Hel~lo_ cleavage, damn and I thought the boss was old but she's _hot_ under the business suit. Rabac is going to be so jealous when I tell him this Teigu as see through visio-

Suddenly I felt light headed and my vision became blurry

"It's rejecting him" Rabac said. Speak of the devil

"Akame take it off" boss ordered

Boss sighed and sat back on her chair "it's the compatibility."

Akame looked from me to the Teigu "it seems that this Teigu isn't suited for you."

"Then we'll just have to wait for Leone to return with Sayo and see if it's compatible with her then." Boss said.

That was disappointing, but at least I got a good show out of it. Wait a minute, if Sayo finds out about the see through powers and spills the beans then they'd put two and two together and find out I was staring at them half naked. Shit, shit, shit I gotta go hide before-

"We're back!" Leone's loud voice echoed. Fuck!

"Ah, good timing" boss gestured them forward "I was just mentioning if Sayo was compatible with Spectator." Boss handed the Teigu to her.

"What, did it reject Ieyasu?" Leone asked coming my way

"Yeah" Rabac answered "there was blood coming from his head and everything."

Leone turned to me "aw, did my Ieyasu get hurt?" before I could even react she smothered me between her breasts "don't worry, big sis will make it all better~" her voice was soft

"Aw come on he's not even as good looking as me, and I've been here longer!" Rabac complained. "What does a guy have to do to get some of that!?"

I didn't hear Leone's snarky reply as I peaked from the corner of my eyes to see Sayo with spectator on her forehead. It was too late to stop the inevitable now, at least I will die on a high note.

I was starting to enjoy the feel of Leone's fun bags when Sayo's shriek alerted me. I instinctively pushed myself away from Leone and looked at her

"What's going on?" I said approaching Sayo

"It looks like Sayo's compatible with Spectator" boss answered

As I approached Sayo I noticed her staring at Braht, her face was red for some reason. What was even weirder was that I couldn't see Spectator

"Yeah, Spectator" I drawled slowly "where is it anyway?"

Braht smirked at me "see for yourself" he grasped Sayo's shoulders and forcibly turned her gaze to me.

Seeing Sayo's face she eyed me up and down, her face red, I raised an eyebrow looking into her eyes. I raised _both_ eyebrows and pointed at her face

"The Teigu is.."

"It seems that Spectator is more compatible with Sayo than Zank" Akame basically summarized.

Spectator wasn't on top of her head; instead I saw it in her eyes. There were four straight lines over her sclera making a cross.

"So what're you seeing?" boss questioned

Sayo blinked at me then turned to boss "w-well, um I can s-see through, solid objects?"

' _Fuck me'_

"Wait, you mean you can see through stuff, like our clothes!?" Rabac shrieked (like a girl), then used his hands to cover himself "are you doing that right now!?"

Sayo started sputtering and me and Leone couldn't help but laugh at her, even Braht laughed heartily at her. I didn't even notice Sayo glaring at me and I guess she must have used Spectator's other abilities too

"Ieyasu used the see through ability to look at Akame and boss in their underwear!" she shouted

Suddenly I had that feeling of dread again and looked up to see boss, Akame and Rabac glaring at me. Wait why the hell was he glaring too. Oh fuck me sideways

I made a mad dash for the door but something caught me leg and tripped me "oof" I yelped landing face first on the floor. I looked back to see a metal hand around my ankles, that was attached to a long chain that was attached to metal arm that was attached to a _very_ pissed off one eyed woman. As she started reeling me in I screamed with nails digging across the ground.

Somewhere in my screaming I could hear Leone laughing even harder and Braht asking "I wonder what's taking Mein and Schere so long."

* * *

 **XXXX** Mein's POV **XXXX**

' _Dammit'_ I mentally screamed. Schere and I were almost in the clear, coming from a job that went off without a hitch then little miss imperial guard and her weird dog just had to show up. I already had Pumpkin ready to fire, now I just have to wait for the right time to take her out.

After hearing her declaration I could only say "so you really want to go through with this, fine." I aimed Pumpkin at her and fired multiple shots "the first to strike has the advantage!" I shouted.

Every single shot connected, but the smoke was blocking the view "did I get her?"

The smoke cleared and my eyes widened, the tiny dog grew huge and blocked the blasts. I saw the holes it made close up. That isn't a dog

"Mein, that thing's a Teigu" Schere told me

"Looks like it" I commented.

I knew I saw that thing somewhere before "that's the biological Teigu..?"

I didn't get to finish the sentence since the girl started firing from her tonfa guns. Schere and I scattered. I saw the dog opened its mouth to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth and lunged at Schere. She side stepped it and used Ecstasy to cut through its teeth and jaw before apologizing as usual.

I remembered what was written about that Teigu called Hecatonchires and aimed Pumpkin at it just in time for it to stand up and regenerate. I fired Pumpkin behind its back pushing it back

"Don't you remember what was written in the book Schere?" I shouted "Biological Teigu have a core inside their body somewhere, unless we destroy it it'll keep regenerating!"

I turned to look at the Teigu that was now next to the girl and grimaced "gross."

The Teigu grew disgusting looking arms and was drooling "looks like we have no choice but to do _that_ Schere" I commented

"I understand" she agreed

The thing attacked us, its fists were moving so fast that they were blurry, I noticed the attack had a wide range and realized

"What the hell" I shouted in panic "there's no way to dodge!" and its coming too fast

"Get behind me Mein" Schere shouted and I followed.

Schere used ecstasy to block all of the blows. Just then the girl blew an imperial whistle to summon nearby guards. It was a goddamn trap, this was an ambush. We're still near the target that we took out location; all the guards searching for us probably heard that whistle. I gained some distance from the Schere who was being pushed back slowly.

"A storm of attacks and she called for reinforcements" I mumbled "Now **that's** what I call" I could feel pumpkin heat up in my hands "being in a pinch!" I finished

I jumped overhead and fired Pumpkin. The blast covered its entire body but it was already regenerating by the time I landed. Not that it mattered, while the girl was distracted by Pumpkin's blast Schere was already close enough to take her.

I squinted a little when she used Ecstasy's trump card to shine a bright light to blind the girl. I saw the Teigu trying to help her but I shot one of its legs and it fell down but the leg was already regenerating.

"Don't forget about me you mutt" I taunted "I'm not letting you go so easily.

The taunt worked and it starting coming my way. I may not be able to take it down even in a pinch but I can distract it long enough for Schere to kill its owner or find its core by the process of elimination.

Before it came close though it stopped and I saw its ear perk up then the thing suddenly changed. It turned red became even bigger with more muscles and looked even more evil.

*GUOOOOAAAR* It roared an ear splitting scream so loud that I had to cover my ears in pain. So she had a secret skill.

Before I knew it the thing had me in its grip "Damn."

"Mein!" I heard Schere shout

I heard the girl yell "CRUSH HER!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" it started crushing me, I could feel my right arm break under the pressure.

Before it crushed me to death Schere cut its arm off. I landed in a heap next to the severed arm and saw her standing before me with a warm smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile myself

"Schere" I said happy she saved me

"Looks like I made it on time" she replied

My face fell when I heard gunfire and Schere's chest blew open with blood leaking out a small hole.

"My body, it won't move" she said in shock

My face contorted in horror when I saw the Teigu charge after her with its jaw wide open. My voice was caught in my throat, I could feel tears in my eyes. The next thing happened so fast I didn't even know it happened until a few seconds afterwards. I was still in shock and before I knew it a new voice spoke

"Your name was Mein right?" the voice was male

I looked up slowly but didn't meet his eyes, instead his iron plated headband. I stared at him for what seemed like forever before my voice finally returned

"T-Tatsumi?" I said in bewilderment.

"Yes" he answered in a calm voice like he was completely unaware of the situation

Wait, how did he even get here if he's blind? My eyes caught sight of Schere; he had her in his arms. How? How did he get here? My eye wandered the battlefield. What happened to the Tei…gu?

My eyes widened even more. The Teigu was on the other side of the field struggling to get up. It didn't make any sense

"Stand up please" he demanded.

I scrambled to my feet my eyes still on the Teigu aiming Pumpkin at it, the girl looked as much surprised as me

"W-what happened?" I asked

"KAW" I looked at him to see that crow on his shoulders. Was it even there before?

"Crow saw that Schere was about to be killed and so I did what my contract with Najenda says and saved her" he said all this calmly.

Somehow the way how he said it makes it look like we're nothing but a job to him, it pisses me off "where did you even come from, how'd you get here so fast!?" I yelled.

He tilted his head in confusion "I came out of Schere's shadow just as that _thing_ was about to kill her. Since it was in my path when I popped out her shadow I kicked it away on entry and stopped your friend from collapsing on the ground." He answered again in a calm voice.

I stared at him, wait what Najenda told us about his Teigu was real and he kicked that thing and sent all the way over there!?

"Judging from your heartbeat I'd say you're surprised. Let me guess, **you** never believed I could actually do that did you?"

He smirked at me and I could feel my annoyance growing but that was cut short when the Teigu roared and charged at us. I don't care what his powers are but if he actually kicked that thing and sent it flying then maybe we have a chance killing it if we work together.

I went to his side and fired Pumpkin at it, somehow the blasts didn't affect it like before, as expected since the girl is using its trump card

I turned to him "hey what're you doing? Help me" I demanded before turning my attention

"No"

I turned to him again "no, what the hell do you mean no!? You're my reinforcement!"

He shook his head "like I told Najenda before, I have no interest in fighting in her war. I only came here because Schere's life was in danger. I'm taking her back to your base and since you can't kill that thing by yourself I'm taking you as well."

"What?" after saying that I felt myself sinking.

I looked down to see myself going down in darkness, not me but all three of us. I tried to squirm but I couldn't even move my body, I looked at Tatsumi but he seemed composed

"We're leaving, close your eyes" he said simply before my sight was covered in darkness.

I could feel an intense pressure and I instinctively closed my eyes and as fast as the pressure was there it suddenly vanished but I didn't open my eyes until

"Mein?" I heard Braht call my name, wait Braht!?

My eyes snapped open and I wasn't in a forest anymore, I was standing in the middle of the meeting room at the base. My legs gave out and I collapsed on my rear.

"Mein!" boss shouted as everyone crowded us, Braht helped pick me up "Tatsumi what happened?"

I looked to see Tatsumi set Schere down "crow saw Schere and Mein ambushed by an imperial guard who had a dog Teigu" he rolled up his sleeve.

"That was the girl I mentioned earlier" Sayo piped up

Tatsumi placed his hands on Schere's wound "Schere was injured and paralyzed from shock. The Teigu was about to kill her so I intervened and brought both of them here" he finished and then black mist leaked from his hand onto Schere.

"What are you doing?" Akame said aggressively.

"I'm patching her up; if you want me to leave her to die just give me the word Najenda"

"No, continue" she replied

After removing his hand the wound was almost closed and he got up

"There" he began "I stopped the bleeding but she's going to need medical attention."

"Got it" Braht picked her up

Tatsumi began to walk away and I realized something "hey wait a minute you!" I shouted

He turned around "yes?"

"You've been watching the fight the entire time?" I questioned angrily

"Yes"

I stomped over him "then why didn't you help us? If you're strong enough to kick that thing across the clearing then we would've been able to kill it without Schere almost getting killed!"

He turned to boss "Najenda, maybe you didn't explain what exactly the terms and conditions of my lending you my services or what exactly am I supposed to do"

The boss approached me "Tatsumi wasn't hired to help us fight, I hired him in case any of you were about to die then he was to bail you out to fight another day. I already told everyone this before."

"But!" I tried to defend and pointed to him, but he was already halfway from walking into the wall.

"Hey, where are you going?" I shouted angrily

He turned to me "I have to tend to three injured girls at an inn before escorting them safely to their village" he answered.

His reply threw me off and I could only gape at how calm he's been, **the entire time**. Does anything even faze him? He continued walking to the wall, then through the wall into his shadow before it disappeared.

Everyone was silent for a while before we decided to check on Schere. I looked at Ieyasu and was immediately flabbergasted. He looked like he'd been mauled by some wild animal

I pointed at him "what the heck happened to you?"

To Be Continued.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Okay first of all I know you all expected some kind of drama with Tatsumi's confrontation with Zank but I can very much explain. First it was told from Tatsumi's perspective and judging from his personality and reaction to him I think vague is the best way to describe his retelling of the fight, do I have to mention that he is BLIND so getting a blind person to describe a fight is kind of redundant.**

 **Secondly I wholeheartedly believe that Zank is one of the biggest tools in the series and an overall asshole.**

 **Now then, I would like to point out that the three girls Tatsumi saved have a bigger role in the things to come. Just saying. Also I think it kind of sucks what happened to the three of them in cannon so my pity will result in a far more interesting story, you'll see, in two weeks or maybe three, shit I don't know.**


	4. Kill The Servants

**Author's Notes: Yep, I decided to do an early release for this chapter, since I'm at school and don't have to wait until the weekend to have internet, so rejoice because depending on how fast I write, I might just do this again.**

 **Also this has quickly become my most popular fic after only three chapters, wow, never knew that Akame Ga Kill had such a wide fanbase on fanfiction.**

 **Alright so for this chapter I will be writing in third person perspective which is what I am more comfortable with. Honestly I don't know these characters well and hope I've pulled them off, especially the minor ones, there is not much to say when I write from their perspectives so tell me if it is still well written in your reviews.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Kill The Servants**

Where am I? That was the first thing Luna asked herself. She didn't know what was going on except that what she was laying on was comfortable, a bed? How did she get on a bed, come to think of it what happened? Her memory was fuzzy at best but slowly she started recalling the events that led to her current predicament.

She remembered her friends Air and Fal, they were-they were sold to someone but who? Bach! That's when the memories started flooding in. They all came to the capital to be his wards; he treated them well at first, gave them money to go shopping and treated with food. That's when he, no some men gathered around him. They were dressed in black suits and wore dark glasses; they held us so we couldn't escape.

They broke both of Fal's legs when she tried to fight them then; one of them came over with a needle and aimed at her eye and…

"AAAAHHHH" Luna screamed

Air and Fal who have been inside the hotel room rushed to her side to calm her down

"Luna, Luna calm down" Air tried to comfort her.

Luna heard her friend's voice and calmed down somewhat. She was panting heavily; her face was drenched in sweat. The dream was just so vivid, Air was hugging her and she saw Fal walking over with some water. Luna took the cup from her and downed the liquid in a matter of seconds.

Gathering her bearings the bluenette managed to finally have a glance at her surroundings. She didn't recognize the place

"Where are we?" she asked

"We're in a hotel" Air answered

"How did we get here?"

This question caused Air and Fal to glance worriedly at each other

"I brought you here" a new voice sounded causing the three girls to whirl in surprise to the new presence.

Luna's eye widened at the fourth person, he was a boy with brown hair with three thick bangs going over his face and one long strand sticking from the top extending over his head like an antenna. He wore a headband with metal plating over his eyes that showed a strange symbol and wore a long zip up high collared black coat that reached just above his ankles with sleeves longer than his arms. He looked young as far as Luna could tell, probably just a year or two older than Air who is sixteen.

To say that this boy looked suspicious was an understatement, her body tensed

"Who are you?" she asked with a hint of fear

"My name is Tatsumi" he replied "do you remember what happened to you Luna?" he asked curiously.

"I-"Luna racked her brain, she looked to her friends, Fal was scowling and Air looked like she saw a ghost "Bach" she breathed in realization.

Tatsumi nodded "apparently he bought the three of you so that you could be humiliated and tortured to death for entertainment" his voice was leveled but his face twisted in disgust for a moment.

The color from Luna paled as it dawned on her that the memories she saw were true, which meant…! Luna immediately felt for her left eye, it was covered in a bandage, how did she not notice it before? Suddenly an overwhelming anger came over her like never before, she should be scared but somehow knowing those..bastards bought them just so they could die for their entertainment made her furious.

Fal saw this and placed a hand on her shoulder, Luna looked up to see her grinning "don't worry, those fuckers are bird food" she said.

Luna looked to Air quizzically and she nodded "it's true. Tatsumi killed them and healed Fal's legs and then your eye" she smiled after saying the last part.

Her eye? Luna then remembered that the man actually _took out_ her eye before everything went black. She started touching her bandaged eye, Air looked to Tatsumi

"Is it safe to remove the bandage?" she asked

He stood there for a moment before nodding "go ahead" he replied.

Air then began to unwrapped the bandages over her eye, Tatsumi walked over to her as the bandages came off

"I still can't see!" she panicked

Tatsumi simply pointed his index finger at her, Air, Fal watched as the darkness attached itself from Luna's eye to his finger. As soon as it was finished Luna had perfect vision again but she didn't even notice instead she was still staring at the boy, too conflicted to act. Should she thank him for healing her, as unbelievable as it is or should she be afraid of whatever it was that snaked itself onto his finger.

Before she could act upon either of those decisions Tatsumi spoke "I will be escorting you all back to your village today but first you'll bathe and then we'll get something to eat, my treat."

All three girls blinked at that and looked amongst themselves then back at Tatsumi "why are you helping us?" Luna asked now wary of him, Bach was practically the same way, he treated us well and then..*shudder*, although the difference between him and Tatsumi was that the mysterious boy didn't show much emotion.

Tatsumi rose an eyebrow at her "your friend Air asked me the _exact_ same question."

Luna spared a glance to Air before Tatsumi's reply made her gaze turn back to him "so I'll answer the same question with the same answer I gave to her. I am helping you because it is the right thing to do. Besides, I can't exactly have a clear conscience leaving three underage country girls alone in this place. I mean no offense to your martial prowess Fal, but you aren't strong enough to protect yourself _and_ your friends if you are cornered by someone stronger than you."

Fal visibly deflated at that, she remembered giving the tall bastard in the black suit who grabbed her, a solid kick to the face but he just laughed at her and floored her with _one_ punch to the gut, then broke both of her legs like twigs.

"I'll wait outside until you're finished" he said as he went outside.

As the door closed behind him, Luna observed that Air seemed to be in deep thought about something while Fal had a scowl on her face but also in deep thought. Luna also thought about their predicament, _should_ they go back to the village? They understood why they were sold off and accepted it, but now, after what they had just survived, is it wise to return? Especially since they are liable to be sold off a second time, after all, the high taxes will continue.

Air was thinking the same thing but what could they do? They could take the money and travel somewhere else but it's as Tatsumi said, they'd be three girls from the country and Fal may not be able to protect them should a similar incident occur. It pained her to admit it but for the moment they needed to depend on someone for their survival. But the main question was who could they turn to or more specifically what _kind_ of person would they _want_ to depend on.

' _Someone we can trust'_ Air thought tugging at her clothes.

' _Someone dependable and kind'_ Luna thought her eyes veering to the side.

' _Someone strong'_ Fal thought while biting her thumb in frustration.

Suddenly as if an idea formed in their heads at the same they all looked to each other

"I have a suggestion" Luna said first

"So do I" Air said

"Me too" Fal added

Downstairs Tatsumi stood outside the inn the girls were in, his senses scanning over the area, making sure not to tune in to the girls conversation. It would be invasive since they are no threat to him, not that he would even bother paying attention, since his ears picked up a rather troublesome bit of information from some of the nearby royal guards

" _Goddammit!"_

" _What's wrong with you?"_

" _Didn't you hear, general Esdese returned from the North"_

"… _.shit.."_

" _Yeah, no kidding, that slave driver is going to be putting us through the wringer"_

" _Wasn't she supposed to be quelling the rebellion in the North?"_

" _She_ _ **did**_ _, I heard from a friend of mine in the palace guard that he overheard one of the three beasts, Deidara I think, bragging about how they buried everyone in the North alive"_

" _Wait when you say everyone"_

" _ **Everyone,**_ _every man, woman and even children they tossed them in a ravine and Esdese buried them alive under a ton of snow…"_

Tatsumi had heard enough, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white and he gritted his teeth "great" he whispered between his teeth distastefully as he calmed down "so much for travelling to the North after this."

His senses picked up three approaching figures from behind so without turning he addressed them

"What do you three want to eat before you leave? The capital may have rotten people but the food is surprisingly good" he commented.

There was a pause as all three girls looked to each other then nodded before Air approached his back

"Um, Tatsumi?" she asked

Tatsumi turned, he immediately picked up the sound of her rapidly beating heart, a clear sign of anxiousness.

"What is it Air?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

She exhaled sharply to gain some courage "we don't want to return to our village" she began "Fal Luna and I wish to stay by your side as your loyal servants, Master!" she finished fiercly.

"…"

"…"

If Tatsumi's eyes weren't covered he would've blinked five times by now. He instead tilted his head and responded with an

"Huh?"

Luna came forward and patted her shoulder "what she means is we _can't_ go back to the village. If we do then we'd be sold off again the next time the village is in financial trouble and we don't want to take any chances that it might be someone like Bach again."

Tatsumi straightened his tilted head "I'm a blind nomad who doesn't stay at one place for too long. I don't keep any money preferring to sleep outdoors and any food I want, I hunt for" He stated bluntly.

Fal grinned "that's even better, we get to travel around with someone strong, so who cares if you're not rich. Our village was so poor that we had to sleep on the hard floor and go days on only bread and water" she finished with pride.

"…are you sure that is what you want?" he asked, his voice low.

"That's what we want" they said in unison Air replying the least fierce and Fal replying the fiercest.

Tatsumi raised his head to look up in thought and was silently contemplating the situation before him; it was the first time he was in this particular situation. Then again he never actually stuck around with the people he saved for them to thank him properly. He then began to muse if this is how they would react, no these girls are desperate, but getting back to his decision.

When Tatsumi travels he doesn't really set a destination for the most part, he's confident in his ability to adapt to any situation and he's also confident in his combat prowess with and without the use of his powers. Having three girls follow him around is a bit…dangerous, for them. Then there's the fact that they want to be his servants, now what could he possibly do with three eager, younger girls who want to do nothing but please…him…. Huh?

Err, moving on.

The fact of the matter was that he honestly didn't need a servant, let alone three, but from their explanation this was more beneficial for them than him. Tatsumi honestly didn't mind the company, especially since he'd gotten used to having conversations with Ieyasu and Sayo. It could work he guessed but that still leaves the issue of their safety, he really didn't want to change his 'wandering' ways, it would be too boring. He preferred the thrill of anonymity with his journey's, after all every where he's been has been an adventure.

Tatsumi racked his brain for an answer and he immediately found one but it wouldn't be right to do that to them. Although they did say they wanted to be his 'servants' so it would depend on them, he would have to test their resolve later. At that conclusion he finally spoke.

"What do you girls want to eat?" he asked

It was now their turn to be confused "huh?"

He turned his back to them "I told you girls before that I would treat you all to lunch, despite what just happened I want to keep that promise. As for becoming my servants" he turned his head and smirked "we'll see about that" he concluded before walking off.

The three girls looked to each with a serious face and nodded. While walking Tatsumi could hear hurried steps and expected them to be the girls catching up to him. What he didn't expect was to have bought of his arms dragged forward causing him to stumble a bit but was caught by Fal. Luna and Air grasped his right and left arm respectively while Fal stayed at the front, that's what Tatsumi gathered as they lead him along.

"…..what are you girls doing?"

"Well we wouldn't be good servants if we allowed our _blind_ master to wander about the capital" Luna said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Air nodded with a smile "besides you don't know where you're even going, master."

"So just leave it to us" Fal grinned.

Tatsumi didn't say anything but the faintest of smiles was obscured by his high collared coat.

* * *

Meanwhile at Night Raid HQ…..

Schere's injury from last night prevented her from doing any strenuous tasks and so she spent the day in bed reading a book, it will be at least two days before she fully recovers to be able to go on any missions. Everyone was actually quite grateful for Tatsumi's timely assistance, including Mein although he didn't stick around long to _be_ thanked, not that she would ever do that.

Right now Ieyasu was training with Akame rather fiercely with training swords and she internally admitted that he was well trained. Though it wasn't enough for her to worry since her skills, experience and instincts completely eclipsed his, however, she couldn't afford to let her guard down. Ieyasu was surprisingly adaptable and deceptively shrewd to the point where she wondered if he acted like an idiot on purpose just to throw them off.

Remembering Tatsumi, Akame wouldn't be surprised if that was indeed the case. Aside from his odd appearance Tatsumi doesn't necessarily give the impression of someone dangerous, suspicious? Yes. Dangerous? No, but the fact that you can't see his eyes is another cause for concern, she mused on this particular trait. You can't tell most of what an opponent is going to do if you can't see their eyes, then there's the fact that he is blind with heightened senses that rivals even some danger beasts.

During her musings she almost completely forgot where she was and what she was doing

"Hey, don't ignore me!" she heard Ieyasu shout

Ah, now she remembered. She and Ieyasu were in the practice field. They crossed wooden swords, her one vs. his two. She found his use of two weapons to be troublesome at times, especially since he was stronger than her physically, forcing her to use both arms. As they clash swords while swinging with impressive speeds, Ieyasu found himself being pushed back.

He gritted his teeth when an idea formed in his head, as Akame pressed forward he purposefully left an opening, careful so as not to make it seem deliberate. Akame took the bait and slashed downward, Ieyasu grinned mischievously and made an 'X' with his weapons to catch hers. Ieyasu's weapons were like a pair of scissors and clamped down on Akame's practice sword, he moved both to the side and delivered a kick to her ribs.

Akame gritted her teeth as pain shot through her, he was definitely no pushover, but. She used one arm to hold his foot to her side, Ieyasu's eyes widened and he cursed mentally, Akame was tougher than he thought. She pulled him closer and drew her head back before delivering a solid head butt to his face, dazing him. With his grip on her weapon loosened she drew it back with both hands and spun with the action, building enough momentum to deliver a devastating spinning slash that actually sent the taller boy a few feet away.

Ieyasu righted himself in the air and landed in a crouch position _'for a girl her size she is hella strong'_ he thought in disbelief of how far she sent him with that one swing.

"Are you alright?" she asked with worry in her voice.

She hadn't meant to put that much power behind that last strike. Her thoughts were cut short when she noticed one of Ieyasu's swords hovering just about where she hit. He blocked it? She didn't know why she is surprised at this point. Ieyasu had bruises all over and was panting hard, Akame also had some bruising here and there but they were all superficial at best.

"Better than expected right" the cheery voice of Braht echoed.

Akame nodded with a small smile and even though Ieyasu has seen it before it still felt so foreign to him. He shook his head and grinned

"What's up bro?" he greeted with enthusiasm

Braht beamed "just watching the spar, you've got some moves Ieyasu"

"They better be" Ieyasu snapped playfully but then his expression went into one of fear "you have no idea what that bastard Tatsumi had me do. Adapt to any situation my ass" he grumbled.

Braht and Akame shared a look "still, he did a pretty good job if you're able to land some hits on Akame" Braht reassured.

Ieyasu grinned but then his expression became somber "yeah he did" his expression turned to one of determination "but I still need to get stronger, that's why I'm sparring with Akame since she's the best (and only) swordsman in Night Raid."

Braht started laughing "Ieyasu if you wanted to get strong that badly" he pointed a thumb at himself and grinned "then hang with me. I'll show you how it's done!" His teeth sparkled at the end

"Seriously!" Ieyasu shouted with excitement " **alright** , let's do this!"

"That's the spirit" Braht laughed and grabbed a shovel "here's your first lesson" he then began to run "follow me Tatsumi!"

Ieyasu followed him with a grin leaving Akame behind as she watched them disappear in the distance her parting words "good luck" wouldn't have been heard by them.

While Ieyasu ran off with Braht Sayo was training with Leone who had volunteered to help her learn how to fight with her new Teigu, Spectator. While in her beast state Leone was faster, stronger and had better reflexes than Sayo who was barely able to dodge each of her blows despite being able to predict them.

"Come on Sayo, you're going to have to fight back eventually" Leone scolded as she relentlessly launched combo after combo of attacks.

It was easy for her to say that, she was a close quarter's combat specialist while Sayo is a long distance fighter at best. Tatsumi had made sure to teach her close quarter combat but she was nowhere near Ieyasu's skill. Not to mention that she dared not take one of Leone's hits, practice or not she witnessed her literally punch a hole _through_ someone.

As such, spectator was working overtime while Sayo dodged and weaved through the blows, she needed to gain some distance but Leone always caught up with her inhuman speed. This dance had been going on for a while now and Sayo was starting to feel the after effects of using the Teigu for so long, she was still getting used to it after all.

She could feel the fatigue growing and Leone seemed to notice because the catgirl had a feral grin, dammit. What now? She needed an out, something to…wait a minute! She remembered that her Teigu had _five_ sight abilities and she'd only use _three_. With that in mind she mentally tapped into the Teigu to draw out one the other sight abilities

Spectator reacted to her concentration and Sayo peered right at Leone who threw a punch. Sayo went to dodge but then something unexpected happened Leone's grin vanished, replaced with a bewildered expression as her fist slowed. With adrenaline fueled accuracy Sayo took full advantage of Leone's momentary lapse of judgment

Before Leone can wrap her head around what she was seeing Sayo delivered right hook to her face followed by a leg sweep while simultaneously steadying her bow. She fired three arrows pinning Leone to the ground by her clothes while another arrow was aimed at her head. It all happened so fast and unexpectedly that all Leone could do was blink multiple times.

For a minute the only sounds present were of Sayo's labored breathing. With each breath the fatigue set in, the adrenaline dissipated leaving her feeling more and more tired, her eyelids grew heavier, spectator appeared on her forehead and she fell face forward but was caught by Leone who broke free of her impromptu restraints. Leone looked at the Teigu on her forehead with scrutiny but ultimately opted to sling the unconscious girl over her shoulders.

Leone carried Sayo all the way into the infirmary where Mein was talking to Schere; they both turned their attention to Leone the moment she walked in.

"What happened to her" Mein questioned

"Oh, nothing much, she overused her Teigu and passed out" Leone had a somber expression

Schere picked up on this "are _you_ alright Leone?"

Leone glanced at her and gave her a big toothed grin "aw don't worry about me Schere" her expression faltered somewhat "I just saw someone I never thought I'd ever see again" she looked to Sayo as she said this with a somewhat sad smile.

Mein and Schere shared a glance before looking at Leone. They know something wass wrong but they didn't want to pry too much. Leone may be cheerful most of time but certain topics, mostly personal, would sour her mood.

Leone had both her hands behind her head "I'm gonna go talk to the boss. Sayo here discovered another of Spectator's sight abilities" she then left the room.

* * *

Tatsumi was conflicted with his situation right now with the girls. After he treated them to some food they spent the day exploring the capital. Of course he couldn't really search for suspicious persons, what with three girls hanging around and trying to pamper him, oh if Ieyasu could see him now.

Now to the present situation, currently they were back at the inn, the three girls were in the room. Fal was practicing her village's various martial arts forms, Luna was reading a text book she bought from a merchant while Air sat next to Tatsumi with a worried expression on her face. Tatsumi was sitting on the bed cross-legged with his arms crossed as well, his brow furrowed and his lips were pursed in a thin line.

He had been like this ever since they got back to the inn, 3 hours ago. Enough time for Fal to work up a sweat, take a bath, lounge around, get bored and start practicing again. Enough time for Luna to peruse a scholastic tome half her actual weight in pages. Enough time for Air to worry that their new master might be dead and they haven't even realized it yet which is why she is currently next to him. The truth is Tatsumi hasn't moved since assuming that position saying that he needed to 'think about it' before making the decision.

A few moments pass before a tired sigh escaped his lips alerting the girls to his movement and relief that he is in fact alive. Fal and Luna immediately ran to his side, Air got off the bed to stand beside her friends in front of him. Tatsumi unfolded his legs and arms and stretched them out with a mighty yawn

"That was a good nap" he commented

Too bad he couldn't see the expression of bewilderment on each girls face especially Air's. He was sleeping? She couldn't believe it, first of all, who sleeps like that and from her close proximity even she wasn't sure he was even breathing.

"You were sleeping the entire time?" Luna asked glancing at Air, who had devoted her time to staying by his side.

"Not the entire time" he defended before turning to Air "I respect your dedication Air" he commended.

The girl beamed at him "thank you master!" she exclaimed.

Hearing that Tatsumi glanced up as if looking at something with a long "hmmmm"

Not knowing what was going on they glanced up as well only to see the ceiling, _that's_ when they remembered he was blind or so he says. They never did ask how he manages to always walk around like he could see without any assistance.

"Air, Fal, Luna" his voice made them glance at him "are you sure you want to be my servants?" he didn't take his gaze off the ceiling as he questioned them.

"Yes" they exclaimed in unison

"You do realize what it means to be a servant don't you?" he questioned

Fal finally got frustrated "ah, would you quit stalling already! Yes we know what it means and we accepted it the moment the village sold us off" she pointed her finger at him "so stop trying to give us the run around and say yes already!"

Tatsumi took his gaze off the ceiling "….alright then" they brightened at this. "Answer me this first" his tone was serious and the atmosphere became heavy with his words.

"Are you willing to give me your **soul**?" they were wide eyed at this and quite frankly speechless, suddenly it became harder to breath.

Air gulped "w-what do you mean?" Fal slowly barred both girls behind her and slowly went into a fighting stance.

Tatsumi caught the subtle movement, heard their rising heart beat and tilted his head in confusion before it suddenly clicked what it is they _think_ he's trying to imply.

"Wait" he held his hands up in surrender "that's not exactly what I meant. I'm not asking you to do anything _lewd_ or _perverted_ so you can relax" he stated hurriedly while mentally slapping himself for not choosing his words carefully.

He sighed "what I meant is by tradition whenever a master has a servant he is to brandish them as a sign that they are his, usually it was burning their mark onto the skin of the servant or using a tattoo" he paused "what I have in mind isn't just skin deep, that's why I'm asking you before I do it" he finished darkly.

"I still don't understand" Air said.

All three of them seemed to have calmed down but were still weary of him and confused.

"Did you see how I killed those dogs when I rescued you three?" he asked

Air's eyes widened as she remembered the first time she saw him. He seemed to take form from a murder of crows that enveloped the room and turned everyone except them into a bloody mess. A glance at Fal told her that she too remembered as her eyes were wide and sweat began to form on her brow.

Luna on the other hand drew up blank, she was barely conscious when it happened, the intense pain of having her eye removed was too much for her. What she did remember was a dark bird attacking the man that removed her eye and vaguely caught a glimpse of Tatsumi reaching out to her and then, nothing.

Tatsumi brought his arm up for them to see then suddenly black ink enveloped his hand

"I won't lie to you and I won't sugar coat this either. If you are truly serious about becoming my servants then I will have to 'mark' you" the black ink that coated his arms spread out until it resembled a flame enveloping his hand "it will be painful and afterwards your souls will belong to me. Do you still agree now?"

There was a long silence as the now fearful girls contemplate their next course of action. They never expected this, what he's talking about is more than just simply servitude.

After another minute of silence Tatsumi lowered his hand with a sigh "I thought so" he expected this "since you refuse to go back the your village and you don't agree to the terms of being my _servants"_ he put his finger to his chin in thought "then I guess I can help you find a mas-"

"Hey hold on a minute" Fal yelled and Tatsumi's mouth hung open mid sentence before he closed it.

"We didn't say anything yet master" Air added, a little frustrated but not angry.

"What is the meaning of marking us, master?" Luna added curiously.

Tatsumi sat back down on the bed with his arms folded and a deep frown "well, it is suppose to officially state you three as my servants" he unfolded his arms and leaned on them, on the bed while looking up as he explained.

"By marking you three, you'll each be able to manifest my powers to an extent, as a representation of your loyalty to me. Your bodies will become stronger and more durable so as to protect me and yourself from harm." He looked down held his hands up "you guys won't be mindless slaves or anything like that, but" his tone became darker "your souls, your lives will be bound to mine. If I die, you will all die as well."

They all gulped at his last words and looked amongst each other adopting a serious expression before eventually nodding starting with Fal and then Air but Luna was still thinking it over. They already accepted and even wanted to be servants, _his_ servants. Tatsumi was a good person through and through, so what if her life was bound to his.

She figured Air was thinking along the lines of this and Fal was probably thinking that he wasn't bad looking plus they would also be stronger. Luna's eye twitched, she didn't want to feel so helpless again. She looked to Air and Fal before nodding as well

"We'll do it" Air answered her tone and expression one of utmost seriousness.

As the sun finally set Tatsumi slowly rose from the bed and the girls noticed how tall he was for perhaps the first time.

"Alright then" he said and they could feel themselves sinking "If we're doing this I'm going to have to take us somewhere else" he said as their vision was enveloped in darkness.

At the edge of the forest Crow was perched on the ground on the bank of a stream, the moonlight shun brilliantly against it. Suddenly its small shadow became thicker and it expanded until Tatsumi, Air, Fal and Luna rose from it. As soon as they completely ascended the girls drop on all fours. If they were to describe the feeling they just had, it would be continuously falling until they hit the ground, but without any pain.

Fal staggered up while Tatsumi had to helped Air and Luna to their feet.

"I'm sorry about that, I forget the effect that has on people sometimes" he scratched the side of his head.

"Where are we?" Fal asked looking around

"Oh, we're outside the capital" he replied unzipping his coat, folded it and placed right at his feet.

"And why is that?" Luna asked wearily

"Because" he began as he did some stretches "this is the first time I'm going to be marking someone and I don't want any prying eyes" he finished.

He sat on the ground cross legged motioning for the girls to do the same. Once they sat down his hands become enflamed in black fire

"Take a deep breath because this will **hurt** " he stated grimly and suddenly for the girls, this didn't seem like such a good idea.

Birds scattered in the nearby trees as the bloodcurdling screams of three girls echoed throughout half of the surrounding forest.

* * *

"Everyone is here" Najenda began as she surveyed the room, finding the eight members present in a loose semi circle around her.

"I have three pieces of bad news to relay so listen carefully" some of them shifted and tensed up at this. "First, I can no longer contact the local team."

Braht and Akame's expression tensed at this.

"A local team?" Sayo questioned.

"The empire is vast so while we specialize in assassinations in the capital, there is another team that handles assassinations in the areas around it" Schere answered, the glare from her glasses obstructing the view of her eyes.

"It's being investigated but the likelihood that they are dead is high so be prepared for that" she looked to Rabac "in the meantime I think we should increase the security around the base."

Rabac nodded and tightened his glove "got it, I'll increase the range of my threads."

Najenda nodded at that "secondly, Esdese has finished conquering the North and has returned to the capital" she finished while going in her pocket.

Every senior member of Night Raid adopted an expression of dread except for Leone who looked just as laid back as usual, no, actually more bored than anything else. Sayo looked to Ieyasu who caught her glance and shrugged in confusion before their attention focused on Najenda.

"That was much faster than anyone expected" Akame commented, the frustration showing on her usually stoic expression.

"It seems her army was left to the North which means she must've been summoned to the capital" Najenda added while fiddling with her cigarette box.

"So it's safe to say that she wasn't suddenly brought here to deal with the revolutionary army right?" Braht imputed

"I can't figure out what her next move will be, but currently it seems she is throwing herself into her work in the government's torture facilities" she looked to Leone "Leone, I want you to go to the capital and Observe her movements."

"Leave it to me" she cheered with a smile "I've always wanted to know what type of person she is after all" she added.

"She's a homicidal maniac who enjoys slaughter" Najenda replied bluntly while looking at her intently "be on your guard."

Leone shrugged exaggeratedly "alright, alright."

Najenda observed a grin that formed on Leone's face, she knew what she was thinking and chose to ignore it. Leone would come to realize the error of her ways soon enough.

Najenda decided to continue "and finally, there has been a string of murders, the victims are officials and their bodyguards" she pulled up a 'Night Raid' poster "the problems is these posters claiming to be from Night Raid were found at all of the crime scenes" she finished

Braht bend down to look at said poster "so they're framing us for the crimes?" he looked at Ieyasu with folded arms "it's easy to see they're fakes right?"

Ieyasu shrugged with a smirk "yeah, it's obvious, I mean for us to start suddenly claim responsibility seems a bit farfetched."

"That's what I thought about the first two cases" she paused "but now it seems it might be us."

"Why's that" he questioned

"In the last incident former Prime Minister Chouri and about thirty of his elite personal guard along with his daughter who was a disciple of a Master in the imperial Fist Temple were massacred. The popular consensus is: 'no one but us could accomplish this'."

Akame cupped her chin "the enemy is just as powerful as us. Then that means Teigu users."

"Exactly and the persons killed were highly skilled and opposed the Prime Minister, in other words this is just a scheme by the prime Minister where he gets rid of his enemies while having Night Raid take the blame."

"You think this could be a plan to lure us out?" Braht enquired.

"I figured as much however, these people are essential in helping to create a new country. We cannot afford to lose any more of them, that is why I say we head out and crush those fakes."

No one disputed Najenda's words and as such she continued "there are five officials who we suspect are being targeted, of those a few have plans to leave the capital soon and we've narrowed it down to two. Akame and Rabac will go together, Braht you will take Sayo and Ieyasu."

"Where does the official we need to protect plan to go?" Sayo asked.

"He plans to board the massive luxury cruise liner, Ryuusen"

With that, the meeting was now complete and the Night raid members save for the recovering Schere and Mein went about their plans for tomorrow afternoon.

* * *

 _The Very Next Day_

Her eyes fluttered open slowly; she took a moment to take in her surroundings

"Ugh" she tried to sit up but instantly felt dizzy and fell back on her elbows.

Fal rolled on her stomach, still prompt up on her hands, her vision going back to normal she saw Luna and Air still unconscious. As the vision of her friends became clearer her eyes widened at their appearance. Both her friends' expression seemed ordinary for an unconscious/sleeping person, however that can't be said for their physical appearance.

Luna was lying peacefully on what looks like pure black water, no ink, that seemed to shift minutely every time she expresses any outward disturbances. When she grumbled a little the dark substance underneath would tremble, if she turned to lay on her side and the dark substance moved along with her.

She turned to see Air had clouds of darkness surrounded her sleeping form. Fal's vision fully returned and she took a closer look at her pink clothed friend. Air wasn't lying on the ground she was _levitating_. As her mind soaked in the sight before her she didn't take notice of the other presence

"I never expected this to happen" a bemused Tatsumi mumbled beside her.

Although he said it under his breath Fal heard it as if he whispered it directly in her ears. With that thought Fal snapped her head in his direction with her cheeks tinted scarlet. All this went away when she realized that he was standing a few feet beside her while she was still crouched on all fours

Tatsumi turned to her fully and she saw a crow perched on his shoulder.

"Good morning Fal" he greeted idly.

Gathering her bearings the girl stood up "g-good morning, master" she replied in earnest.

Tatsumi didn't take his gaze off of her instead cupping his chin "how are you feeling?"

She blinked "eh, w- well I feel great" she replied

There was silence and Fal became increasingly uncomfortable with that silence so she decided to break it "w-what wrong?"

"You've seen Air and Luna right?" he asked curiously.

Oh that's right, she looked to them with worry trying to comprehend what she was seeing but before she could voice a question

"Have you taken a closer look at yourself?" he asked again

Fal blinked _'what is he talking about?'_ she thought confusedly before looking at her hands.

Her eyes widened in shock and a gasp escaped her lips. Black ink with a dark purple outline covered most of her right arm. She looked down to her leg and saw the same dark ink cover most of her thigh except it was curved into a symbol just above her knees.

"W-what is this!?" she yelled in horror. When she touched it, it moved subtly, frightening her and causing her to fall back.

"Fal calm down" Tatsumi spoke and she looked up to find his arm outstretched with a small smile. She accepted the gesture and he pulled her up effortlessly.

"That" he pointed to the dark ink "is a manifestation of the power I told you about yesterday once I marked you as my servant."

Yesterday? Her mind clicked, he did tell her about yesterday and they agreed to be his servants, then he took them out here. His hands were covered in black flame, her body felt pain course through her body, maybe even worse than when her legs were broken and then, nothing. She woke up to see Luna in a puddle of moving black water and Air sleeping on a black cloud levitating off the ground. And her, she was covered in black ink like a really big tattoo.

"We'll wait for them to wake up before I explain what's happening to you. In the meantime try and get a better control on your new power, I think you woke up because you're the strongest out of three" he mused "going by that, I say Air will wake up followed by Luna."

Fal actually stopped paying attention after he said power. Fal started looking all over her body, even going over to the nearby stream to look at her reflection. Seeing her mirrored image Fal had to look very closely as she looked different. The tattoo like markings covered the right side of her face, coming down in a curve on her right cheek. She also noticed that her eyes weren't auburn; instead they were dark in color as the tattoo surrounding her body.

"Am I going to look like this all the time now?" she asked touching her skin, her tone had a hint of worry.

"No you won't" she glanced at him still on all fours "it will be for a few hours at best. Just until your body gets used to your power" he finished.

"What _is_ this stuff anyway?"

"Darkness" he replied simply

"Eh what?"

Tatsumi sighed "that ominous tattoo surrounding your body is darkness, plain and simple" he cupped his chin in thought "I was curious how a distribution of my powers would work out but then…" he trailed off.

"But then what?" she questioned

"Well" he scratched the back of his head "from the feel of it, you may have inherited my powers but it looks like you each only get one form of it, based on your personality" he finished.

She blinked "oh, so what can I do?"

"I call those markings on your body the **'Black Mark'** and it can act as armor to protect you"

"Won't do much protecting if it doesn't cover most of my body" Tatsumi heard her grumble while looking over all the parts of her body the 'armor' didn't cover.

"The armor can expand and cover parts of your body or all of it" he paused "although you'd have to _consume_ to allow it to grow for it to do that. For now try commanding it to move."

At his words Fal rolled up her sleeves, she saw that while her right hand was covered, her left was clean. She narrowed her eyes and thought of it on her left hand and slowly, it started slithering over her arms. It would startle her before but it felt so natural to her that she didn't even mind.

"I did it, master!" she yelled triumphantly with a grin.

Tatsumi smiled at this but then his attention was turned to the girls lying down

"Air's about to wake up" he commented before walking over to her. Fal raised an eyebrow but then Air's groans made her follow suit.

Air groaned again, she turned on her side with a small smile, the bed she was on was very comfortable, it's like she was floating. Her eyes fluttered open, she sat up slowly with an adorable yawn while stretching. She rubbed her sleepy eyes

"Good morning Air"

The pinkette's smile widened when she saw the source of the greeting

"Master!" she greeted happily.

"Geez you're sure in a good mood" another familiar voice said behind him.

Air's smile dropped as Fal came into view.

"F-Fal?" she questioned I disbelief.

Fal crossed her arms and seemed to be examining her before grinning "who else am I supposed to be?" at that the black marks on her face shifted.

"Eep!" Air let out a squeak and fell to her back but found herself drifting further away despite it.

Fal and Air blinked while Tatsumi hummed before speaking "Fal, you still have some armor on your face."

Fal's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her and she swore under her breath. Air's eyes widened too as she witness the black tattoos recede from her face and into her clothes.

Tatsumi walked over to the now confused and slightly terrified pinkette.

"Air, calm down" he comforted "do you remember what happened yesterday?"

Tatsumi waited as she gathered her bearings and through Crow's eyes understood that she remembered by her facial expression.

"Y-yes" she answered weakly.

"Then you understand that I gave you all a part of my power as a representation of your affiliation with me, right?"

She nodded but then quickly answered "yes, master"

Fal came up next to Tatsumi but Fal looked at her with uncertainty but was thrown off when she grinned.

"You know you're floating right" Fal asked with a raised eyebrow while still smiling.

"Ah?" was Air's response before looking down. To her surprise she was indeed floating on a large black _pillow_ no less.

This was followed by an awkward silence as she slowly turned her head towards Tatsumi and Fal who seem to be waiting for her reaction but as soon as she was about to open her mouth Tatsumi cut her off

"Good morning Luna" he said.

Fal and Air looked behind Tatsumi to find Luna sitting in a large black puddle of ink. Luna was staring at them with half laden eyes that were more curious than surprised. She observed that Fal had an abnormally large tattoo on her right thigh and Air was floating on a large pillow. She looked down and found that the ground was dark, her eyes shifted into concentration and she figured that she was sitting on something similar to what Fal and Air have.

Luna used her hand to touch it and instantly felt a natural connection to it, like it was her own arms. Glancing at Air's dark pillow Luna closed her eyes and after a moment she found herself floating off the ground. Fal and Air's mouth dropped while Tatsumi merely folded his arms while barely tilting his head, the crow mimicking that action.

"I guess I don't have to explain anything about what happened last night to you eh Luna?" He questioned Luna who was now sitting on a chair that she formed from the dark water. The chair oddly seemed like some kind of animal though.

She shook her head and replied calmly "yes master, I remember everything yesterday. Is this the power you gave us?"

"Yes" he replied and raised his eyebrow "you're taking this better than Fal and Air did."

"Ah she's always been like that" exclaimed Fal with her hands behind her head.

"What do you mean?"

"She means I always think before I act" Luna answered as her chair that was still attached to the ground moved forward to meet them and reaffirming her friend's suspicion of it being an animal rather than an inanimate object as the 'chair' began moving like a horse.

Tatsumi can understand that, yesterday she seemed reserved and knowledgeable; she chose to spend her time reading a book yesterday. Also for the most part she was more composed than the shy Air and the rambunctious Fal.

"How come _I_ don't have the same kind of powers they have, Master?" Fal complained as she and Tatsumi were the only once actually standing now.

"Since you're all awake I guess I can explain then" he stated before sitting down cross legged.

Fal copied him; Air hovered just barely off the ground while Luna was lowered by her….'chair' which was laying down.

"From what I can see, you all manifested powers based on your personalities and mindset, also from what I understand it seems that you each have a different way in which you can manipulate it."

He pointed at Fal "for example Fal your power allows you to manipulate darkness as a type of armor that protects you and enhance your physical strength, speed and durability"

"Really!?" she asked with a grin.

He nodded "it's something I use often" he rolled up his sleeve and the girls watched as a similar marking slithers across his hand "I only use that form of darkness for protection" his hand straightened "it has offensive capabilities too" the darkness engulfed his entire hand and stretched out to form a dark curved blade that was jagged at the tip.

Fal had sparkles in her eyes as she gazed at her hands and imagined what Tatsumi just did and soon the darkness engulfed her hand and produced the same looking blade. Luna observed that Fal's blade wasn't as long as Tatsumi's and it somehow seemed lacking compared to his pure dark blade.

A wide grin formed on her face and she got up to swing at the air, adding some kicks as well. Tatsumi smiled at this something that he noticed has become recurring since this morning, as if he now share a bond with each of them.

Fal stopped and turned to Tatsumi "Master, what else can I do" she was practically bouncing.

He shrugged "it's up to your imagination, darkness can be molded into almost anything" he responded "now can you sit down I haven't explained Air and Luna's yet"

"Yes Master" she replied a little dejectedly before following his order.

"Air, your particular manipulation of darkness isn't one I really use fully because I like walking" Air traded glances with Fal and Luna "with that said I only use it when I need to create weapons" with that his hand went _into_ his shadow to produce a throwing knife "try it" he urged.

Air, still a little unsure placed her hand on the dark pillow cloud and concentrated. Her hand sunk inside after a moment and she griped inside then tugged. She eventually pulled out a somewhat crude rendition of Tatsumi's throwing knife

"Hmm" Tatsumi hummed "it looks like you'll have to practice visualizing your weapon before creating it"

"Um, Master" Air began "I-I don't know how to use any weapons" she admitted timidly.

"That's alright, you don't need to actually hold your weapon to use it" he said earning a confused glance from her "try imagining the dagger floating"

Air nodded and brought the dagger close to her face, staring at it cross eyed while slowly letting it go and to her delight it remained stationary in the air. She stared at it for a while before a smile graced her lips

"I did it!"

"Yes you did, try guiding it"

Air raised her hand and the dagger moved along with it

"Now throw it at the tree" as he said that Tatsumi launched his dagger at tree with the flick of his wrist it hit the tree a fraction of a second later.

Air gulped and raising her hand into a slightly balled fist concentrated and with a flick of her wrist it cut through the air until it was embedded into the tree.

"Hmm, not bad" he commended as both daggers seem to melt on the tree and slither towards them until it was a part of Tatsumi's shadow and Air's pillow.

"Personally I prefer to throw my weapons" he commented offhandedly "it keeps me in shape." He finished before turning to Luna.

"Luna, your form of shadow manipulation allows you to create things, living things" he finished.

' _I knew it'_ Air and Fal thought at the same time looking at the 'chair' that was actually sleeping now that they observed it closely with narrowed eyes.

Luna's eyes widened and she immediately glanced at the crow perched on his shoulder looking at her.

"Kaw" it responded while bobbing its head up and down as if to answer her unsaid question.

Tatsumi pointed at the 'chair' "even seemingly inanimate objects are 'alive'" he made air quotes "which is kind of disturbing when you think about it" he mused and both girls nodded in affirmation. "Try creating something using your imagination" he said.

Luna stood up and stared at the dark chair until it started shifting and something flew out and nestled on top of her head.

"Kaw" it was a smaller version of Tatsumi's crow

Tatsumi frowned at this "alright let's get something straight. Crows are **my** thing, so try to create something else next time Luna. I'll let it go just this one time understood?"

Taken aback by his words the bluenette stuttered "Y-yes Master."

Tatsumi's frown lessened "alright then" he stood up "for today I am going to help you with your newfound powers until I deem you fit to develop them further on your own." He opted a sinister grin

" **I hope you're prepared**?" he said darkly as the three girls nervously gulped

Meanwhile, a chill ran up Sayo and Ieyasu's spine as they waited for the 'Ryuusen' to dock.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who felt that" Ieyasu commented

"Felt what?" Braht questioned cautiously while camouflaged in Incursio.

"Nothing" Sayo said a little too quickly

"O-kay then" he drawled slowly "you two better get your heads together here comes the Ryuusen.

As those words escaped his mouth Sayo, Ieyasu and a good portion of the crowd saw through the fog filled air in the distance the makings of a dragon's head.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Bet you guys never saw** _ **that**_ **coming did you? Like I said before those three girls will have a major part to play in this story and I bet I am the only writer who has thought of using them this way. Not that I will do this with every minor character I come across, I want this to focus more on Tatsumi and his relationship with the people around him. You could call Sayo and Ieyasu as the** **deuteragonists of the story.**

 **BTW for anyone wondering, I based Fal's black mark 'tatoo' from Meliodas' demon form in the manga/anime Nanatsu No Taizai. I also based Air's power on another character from the same anime/manga called King. Great manga and the anime does the show justice so check it out if you have the time, I guarantee you will not regret it.**


	5. Kill The Three Beasts

**Author's Notes: How long has it been since I was gone? Over a month and, and I have over 100 favs and follows HELL YES! Anyway I finally got up to finishing this chapter, I did say it would be late, y'know school is a bitch etc, etc you know the whole spiel. Any who, I've kept track of some of your reviews from the last chapter and would like to address some of your concerns.**

 **Firstly Tatsumi's powers, I've realized how vague it is but honestly when I say Darkness I didn't mean that he can command the Primordial Force itself but more like he has the power to manipulate it in the form of his shadow. See chapter 2 where he had to actually use it to connect to everyone else's in order to travel through them. Think of his Dark Slayer power as a muscle, the more he uses it the stronger it gets and there are other ways for it to become stronger, which will be explained in this chapter via Air, Fal and Luna's attempts at controlling their own power.**

 **This brings me to the second problem, concerning how powerful Tatsumi is. A guest stated if Tatsumi was OP (Over Powered) because Akame is on par with Esdese in terms of sword skill and he said that it would take all of Night Raid for him to take a fight seriously. What I meant to convey was that it would take all of them for him to use Dark Slayer for more than making** _ **weapons**_ **to fight with, that's all. You guys realized last chapter that he could do more than make weapons. I would also like to say that Akame is** _ **not**_ **on par with Esdese, or at least not yet anyway, I don't care what you guys have watched in the anime, just to be clear I'm going by the manga plot. At the start of the series Akame wasn't that skilledI mean she is but she wasn't on Esdese's level, throughout the series, with intense training she gets up there though and maybe has a chance against Esdese but as of now she wouldn't last long. Right now I think Braht could over power her in a fight.**

 **As for Tatsumi, while I won't reveal his history just yet, he is without a doubt on Esdese's level, yes there are variables to account for. I won't go into specifics about it but he is there about and I want you all to think about it and ask yourself this question before you make a big deal out of my statement. Can Esdese take on the entirety of Night Raid and lose? Take into account that she will be using her Teigu as well. Keep in mind that this is before Tatsumi joins.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Kill The Three Beasts**

The pride of the Capital the Ryuusen: was linked to the completion of the great canal, which caused the Capital to gain a lot power, is used as a luxury cruise ship. As it came to dock the two assassins that were standing right before could only bring both of them to do these actions

Stare wide eyed with mouths agape and gasp the word "HUUUUUUUUUGGGGEEE~"

A subsequent slap across Sayo and Ieyasu's head caused them to snap themselves out of their bewilderment

"Would you two pull yourselves together, you're supposed to be professionals" Braht reprimanded while camouflaged in Incursio's armor.

"Sorry bro" Ieyasu apologized discreetly so as not to draw any attention

"Still though," Sayo interrupted "this ship is more like a fortress."

"Won't argue with that" Ieyasu commented.

With that they boarded the gargantuan cruise ship under the guise of a young master and mistress from a wealthy family. A few hours in and they converged on deck for a high class party, the target they are to protect was surrounded by his intimidating looking bodyguards.

They had nothing to do but wait and see what happens and if trouble should show, Sayo already had Spectator activated behind a pair of designer shades. Bulat also carried their weapons but just in case they still had daggers and throwing knives hidden on them.

*Munch* *Munch* "you uh, see anything Sayo?" Ieyasu asked while eating some of their orderves.

Sayo lowered her shades to glare at him, he looked at her confused "what?"

"Are you seriously **eating** during this mission!?" she hissed quietly.

The boy shrugged "hey, this is my first and probably my last time on a luxury cruise ship so I might as well enjoy it and besides" he pointed a thumb to their target "gramps over there is surrounded by meat shields" he looked to the guys in black suits wearing shades and grabbed an expensive cup of drink.

*Gulp* *Gulp*

"I'm pretty sure that's going to make it hard for him to be assassinated" he shrugged exaggeratedly "so I guess coming here was a waste of time anyway" He finished.

*Twack*

"Owch!" Ieyasu yelp and looked to Sayo who was stifling her giggles poorly behind her sleeve. He couldn't see that she was staring at something.

"Deciding that on your own is just negligent Ieyasu" a voice spoke to him from an empty space beside him.

"Oh hey bro" he greeted while rubbing the back of his head.

"Just remember my invisibility gives me an advantage and Sayo's sight abilities will warn us of any threats beforehand but we don't know what the enemy is planning so you should _always_ be vigilant." He warned.

"Huh, I guess you're right sorry bro" he apologized

"The target is on the move" Sayo informed "I'll stay on him" with that she was lost in the crowd.

"Yeah" Braht spoke "I'm going to investigate the inside of the ship" Ieyasu heard his voice going further away.

Ieyasu himself started looking around the ship to try and find anything suspicious among the jovial crowd and the fine music. After a while, something did catch his attention although he didn't see it so much as he heard it.

"A flute?" he questioned to no one in particular.

It was a harmonious melody that seemed to pierce the noise made by everyone else getting louder as time passed. No, it wasn't that the sound was getting louder, it was that everyone else was getting quieter. His eyelids felt heavy and he almost buckled under his own weight, he braced himself on the handrails on the ship for support. Rubbing his eyes did little to alleviate o overwhelming drowsiness thrust upon him.

"Shit" Ieyasu dropped to both knees trying to stay awake *Thud* he looked to see he wasn't the only one trying. Several more thuds was heard as the guests slowly succumbed to the lullaby, his eyes went wide and he gritted his teeth, Braht's earlier warning came to mind

" _-we don't know what the enemy is planning so you should_ _ **always**_ _be vigilant"_

' _Shit'_ he cursed mentally _'this must be those fakes, well"_ he reached into his coat pocket and drew one of his throwing knives "as if I'll let myself get taken out like this" he spoke defiantly before stabbing his hand, **hard**.

Pain shot through his body causing his dulling senses to become sharp again, he stood taking off his tie and looked around. He used his tie as makeshift gauze, tying his wounded hand. In hindsight it may not have been a good idea to stab your hand when you wield twin swords but slightly injured and able to fight is better than sleeping and vulnerable.

At this, realization hit him that the enemy was attacking but he didn't have his primary weapons.

"Shit!" he exclaimed quietly while maneuvering around the ship.

He wanted to slip into his room and retrieve his weapons but first he needed to check on Sayo since she was closer to the target which made her in the most immediate danger. He had no idea where Braht was, although he did say he was going inside. With that information he decided to stealthily make his way towards the other side of the deck.

' _Find Sayo, secure target_ _ **then**_ _take out the fakes'_ Ieyasu recited in his thoughts.

Sayo wasn't faring well either, the melody taking a toll on her consciousness. It was by sheer luck coupled with determination and her active Teigu that prevented her from dozing off like the rest of the passengers. It seemed that one of Spectator's more passive abilities is a resistance for illusion based attacks, although it would be more effective if it was an optical illusion rather than an aural one.

So Sayo stood there in the middle of the deck, covering her ears in a futile attempt to block out that accursed soothing melody.

"It must be a Teigu" she said and used spectator to gaze through the walls to spot the user-

"Hiding was so dull" she heard a voice spoke suddenly.

Sayo instantly spun around and was met with a giant of a man, at least as tall as Braht, with eyes so white that his pupils were barely visible. He wore black clothes and she could see a battle axe on his back that would make Ieyasu jealous.

He saw her as well and let out an "oh?" before casually walking towards her "you're still fighting despite scream's hypnotism huh?" he chuckled.

Sayo became focused now "so you are one of the fake Night Raid members then?" she questioned.

The man's eyes widened slightly "so you're the real deal" he looked around the nearby bodies and lifted a sheathed sword from one of the unconscious bodyguards before tossing it towards the assassin "this is good."

Sayo caught the blade then looked at him "what're you doing?" she asked with genuine curiosity. They were enemies and she was unarmed, giving your enemy a weapon is the last thing one would do. This means he is either arrogant or is at least honorable.

"Well" he began "I want fighting experience points you know, in order to become the strongest" at this Sayo raised her eyebrow incredulously though he continued "so come at me" he smirked "it should be easy to fight here since everybody is already out of the way, right?"

Sayo's Spectator-eyes stared at him blankly, as if reading a book before her gaze shifted to the sword in hand, she frowned, something she picked up from Tatsumi.

'… _..he's insane'_ she concluded thoughtfully before pulling the sword from its sheath, slowly.

"Yeah you're right" she answered his previous question darkly, the blade halfway out.

In truth Sayo was buying time while using Spectator to find a weakness because there was no way she would be able to beat this man in a sword fight and she is painfully aware of it. Her eyes darted around trying to find her comrades but all she found were two others dressed similar to this one.

Her eyes widened a bit and a silent breath of relief escaped her mouth when she spotted Ieyasu making his way to her location and he was being stealthy about it. That's good, he could pull off a sneak attack while she distracted him.

Throwing caution to the wind Sayo charged him like an experienced swordswoman, the man grinned

"Excellent!" he exclaimed "that power" his expression became twisted, grim and Sayo's eyes widened " **destroying it will be worth lots of experience** " he finished with a hint of madness in his voice.

The man slammed the huge axe down, hitting where Sayo _was_. His grin diminished immediately as he spied Sayo to his side, her blade already in mid swing threatening to cut his head off. With panic he threw his body to the side avoiding a fatal wound, however, blood was already drawn.

' _Dammit, so close!'_ she exclaimed in her thoughts.

Taking a look at her blade, the assassin confirmed that she indeed hit him but failed to finish the job. The man rose and she could hear his low chuckling, which soon erupted into full blown laughter. He turned around with a long, bleeding cut across his cheek and a wide grin.

"Perfect!" he finally shouted "you're going to be worth more points than I thought" he grasped his battle axe with both hands "how about this?" he split them apart and threw one of them at Sayo.

Of course she saw this move coming a mile away and ducked the axe with ease, all the while her eyes focused on the thrower. Sayo's Spectator eyes widened and she dive rolled to the side, narrowly escaping the returning axe with only a cut on her expensive dress. The short scuffle somehow left her winded for some reason.

' _It must have been that music from earlier'_ she surmised

Which would be correct, although lessened, Sayo still felt sluggish and to make matters worse she read his mind and found out that the axe is a Teigu that when thrown, homes in on its target until it hits. She dodged the spinning axe yet again, using Spectator to predict its trajectory to do so at the last minute, only a few strips of her long hair was lost this time.

"If that's the case" she started charging, making sure that her eyes were on him. The man readied a stance and was poised to strike.

Behind the scenes Ieyasu and Braht were watching with alarm, Ieyasu knew that Sayo had a plan but readied a throwing dagger just in case, Braht on the other hand was ready to intervene with a good smack across the head for doing something so stupid when the most peculiar thing happened.

Sayo closed her eyes, she was still a ways away from Daidara who arched his hand to bisect the girl, and his free hand was ready to catch the returning axe as well. Daidara swung and Sayo opened her eyes and suddenly her black hair and eyes became chillingly blue, her skin turned pale, the expensive looking flower patterned dress became a white uniform and she adorned a general's cap, she grew several inches in height and bust size.

Daidara's eyes widened in shock and confusion as he muttered "Esdese-sama?"

For a moment he completely forgot where he was, what he was doing and why he was doing it because all that mattered was that his beloved master was here.

'Esdese' smiled at him and quickly extended her arm, he barely had time to react as he felt something lodged in his throat. All semblance of confusion was shattered and replaced with agonizing pain. He grasped his throat to pull out a blood soaked throwing knife, his white eyes looked from it to her and a feeling of betrayal enveloped him.

Blood seeped from his mouth like a waterfall as he tried to say "why?" but 'Esdese' abruptly dropped to the floor when she was just a few inches from his position. The sound of the air whipping in front of him guided his attention to a rapidly spinning axe coming at him, his axe. Before he could reach out to grab it, the Teigu went passed his shaky outstretched hand and embedded itself in his chest.

Daidara staggered back and dropped the other half of his Teigu, he coughed blood then began to fall onto his back as 'Esdese' rose to her feet only she didn't look at all like her. What he saw wasn't his master but the Night Raid assassin from before.

' _Of course…it..was..just an..illu..sion.'_ Daidara died shortly after, leaving a victorious Sayo.

Sayo was panting, using the illusion ability was always draining but using it while her body wasn't in the best condition to begin with was just exhausting. Her victory was short lived however as the axe wielder's accomplices charged at her from above, one of them was a short boy with small devil horns and a tail wielding a flute while the other one was older with a mustache reminiscent of Aria's father.

As they descended Sayo took the time to read their minds starting with the older one.

' _Daidara was killed? With all that commotion from before I should've known that Night Raid was here'_ was what he thought, which gave Sayo the impression of a military man.

The devil boy on the other hand _'hmm she's pretty, her face will make a good edition for my collection. Now let's see, I know! I'll bash her head in'_ was a sicko through and through.

Sayo was about to dodge when two shadows popped up beside the two fake Night Raid members. Taking a closer look Sayo confirmed that it was Ieyasu and Braht who donned his Incursio armor.

"Eh?" was all the devil boy could awkwardly say to Ieyasu before he was punched across the face. The impact of Ieyasu's attack throw the boy's body across the deck causing him to crash painfully into a stack of crates, sending splinters everywhere. The older man didn't even get a word in as Braht kicked his side with a force greater than Ieyasu's punch causing the man to hit the side of the ship and making a large crack in the wall.

They both landed on either side of Sayo with their backs turned to her and each other. It was Braht who spoke first.

"You did well taking out one of these guys Sayo, considering they've killed more people than you could even dream of" he finished darkly

"You know these guys bro?" Ieyasu queried.

"They're called _The Three Beasts_ direct subordinates under Esdese" he concluded.

"Seriously?" Ieyasu said clearly shocked and looked to Sayo who was just as shocked

"Indeed" they heard a voice and turned to see the older man stand up, wiping the dirt from his uniform. He looked straight at Braht and stalked forward.

"That Teigu, that strength, so it _is_ you, Braht!"

Braht was taken aback for some reason before uttering "General River."

River stopped and grasped the cross that was a part of his uniform "I am no longer a general" he began "after Esdese-sama saved me, I became her servant."

There was a tense silence after he finished that sentence, Braht didn't do anything, Sayo and Ieyasu had no idea what was going on except they figured Braht must've known that man when he was part of the army.

Finally Braht began twirling his spear, Neuntote "if you were my ally, we would have a drink to celebrate this reunion" he stopped twirling Neuntote and went into a stance "but since you appear as my enemy I must kill you. The mission comes first!" he concluded resolutely.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, I must also complete my mission no matter what" River also went into a battle stance, extending his hand "and I will, using this Teigu I received from my master" upon closer inspection his middle finger had a ring in the form of a dragon's head.

"Sayo, you've already killed one of them so focus on the secondary mission for now" Braht shouted as water began shooting up from the barrels surrounding River like a geyser "get the target as far away as possible, Ieyasu and I have this, isn't that right?"

Sayo looked to Ieyasu, who pulled out a white cloth and tied it around his forehead, he then grinned deviously "oh yeah~" he replied.

"I won't let any of you escape" River decreed before the water geysers shot at them " **Water Cannons!** "

"Don't get ahead of yourself" Braht retaliated by spinning Neuntote around with both hands rapidly, thereby canceling out the water based attack.

Ieyasu took the sword from Sayo and whispered "take gramps to our room, make sure he's alright. Get your weapons and come back here, just in case." She nodded, you can never be too careful.

Nyau arched forward grasping his bruised cheek _'ow, cheap shot'_ he was taken out of his inner musing when he saw Braht fighting River and the girl from before, carrying the old man over her shoulders. He smirked in her direction and brought the flute to his lips but before he could play a voice rang out

"OH NO YOU DON'T!"

Nyau's eyes widened and he brought up his Teigu to block an overhead swing and he came face to face with Ieyasu

"You" the boy said to him, remembering the sucker-punch from earlier

Ieyasu smirked before back peddling away "come and get me you freak."

The bait worked and Nyau charged at him "I'm going to rip your face off!" he shouted while sending a jab with his Teigu in hand.

Ieyasu blocked the flute jab and kicked Nyau in stomach sending him several meters away. Nyau looked up with an annoyed expression, which turned to panic as he came face to face with the business end of a throwing knife. He tilted his head to the side, only getting a cut just above his right eye.

Ieyasu wasn't far behind and soon Nyau found himself clashing with the assassin, the cut he received, bled and the blood flowed downwards to his eye causing him to squint and throwing off his depth perception. Soon the Teigu wielder was being pushed back, Ieyasu grinned smugly before doing a front kick with much power behind it, leaving him open if not for a short while.

He realized his mistake too late as Nyau immediately took advantage of it and front flipped over the boy, landing several blows on his unguarded back before he even touched the ground. The devil-boy wiped his eye and leveled an even gaze at the assassin who used his hand as a springboard to jump a distance away.

Ieyasu grimaced _'what the hell is that flute made of?'_ he thought annoyingly before he heard the sound of a Crow caw.

He looked just above his opponent to see the bird with one wing raised above its head as if face palming and it might just be his imagination but it looked like the thing was pitying him.

"Oh screw you Tatsumi" he shouted before dashing at his now slightly confused enemy.

Nyau dashed at him as well and they started trading blows.

"Who the hell is Tatsumi!?"

"None of your business, you Night Raid wannabe!" Ieyasu retorted.

"Ha, don't compare me to you assassins" Nyau spat back.

With his vision fully restored Nyau was able to fight at full capacity, using his flute as a bludgeon and his anger at the boy to boost his prowess; he was able to match Ieyasu. The assassin was not in his element, preferring to use two swords and as such when Nyau managed to parry his latest attack while simultaneously delivering an attack of his own, had no choice but to retreat.

Both fighters starting panting while glaring pointedly at each other, Nyau wiped another trail of blood from his eye _'my earlier attack should have had an effect on this guy, so how is he moving so well?'_ Nyau thought before looking his opponent once over. His eyes landed on his impromptu bandage that was bloodied then the realization hit him of just what he did to break out of his illusion.

Meanwhile Ieyasu had to give it to that 'little freak,' he was definitely above someone like Ogre in terms of skill. Ieyasu glanced to the side to check on his bro and his mouth dropped almost instantly.

Braht was standing near the edge on the ship while his opponent was standing on a...giant snake made of…water, huh?

"Damn, something amazing is happening over there!" Ieyasu all but yelled.

Nyau and Ieyasu grinned "as long as there is a lot of water there is no way River can lose /it's easy to see bro's got this in the bag" they both said simultaneously before their heads snapped to look at each other.

In a flash Ieyasu and Nyau were already in a blade to flute struggle, both of them sported a sarcastic grin "you mean River right?" Nyau said between gritted teeth while still smiling.

"Of course not!" Ieyasu yelled before they started trading even blows, again.

On a serious note though, Ieyasu needed to overcome this stalemate, he could already tell that the flute wielder was faster, not as fast as Akame and not even comparable to Tatsumi but Ieyasu can admit he is definitely slower. Ieyasu was definitely stronger though, but that didn't mean anything if the slippery bastard can get around his attacks.

Him being a dual wielder aside, the sword he was using was a bit heavier _and_ shorter than his, shitty capital craftsmanship. Needless to say Ieyasu was at a disadvantage, however if there is one redeemable quality Ieyasu had, it would be his tenacity. He needed a plan though so while fighting he thought of his predicament.

Okay so he has an inferior sword that is basically crippling his fighting style, it is subtle and he's doing his best with it but to him it was like he couldn't go all out.

' _Note to self: practice single sword combat more.'_

What did his opponent have? A flute, a _really_ hard flute, if it doesn't even have a scratch on it from the amount of time it was struck with the sword or maybe the sword was just that crappy either way he was slowly running out of time.

' _I hope Sayo gets here soon'_ he though because as of right now this was a battle of endurance.

* * *

Meanwhile Sayo had just hidden the old man away in a far off closet, since she wasn't sure how many enemies came with the three she couldn't risk putting him in her and Ieyasu's room. After taking off her expensive heels to sprint towards said room she gathered their respective weapons. Her bow and arrow and Ieyasu's twin swords, donning her regular shoes, she made her way to the deck.

Once outside she was greeted to the sight of Braht outside of his armor, staring at one of the fake Night Raiders, the area around them was drenched in seawater. For the first time she saw the armor wearing giant with his hair down, he looked quite handsome actually.

' _No Focus!'_ she shook off the thoughts.

"Dammit!" Ieyasu's curse gained her attention.

She turned to see that his opponent had bashed his flute across his head, but he quickly retaliated with a front kick to the chest that knocked the air out of the devil-themed boy and sent him flying back.

Nyau skidded to a stop, grasping at his chest in pain "why *pant* won't you *pant* just die?" he asked breathlessly. Nyau had multiple cuts, on his arms, a shallow slash across his chest and smaller ones on his thighs. All of the wounds leaked blood, soaking his clothes, he was panting heavily from his exertion.

Ieyasu rubbed the side of temple soothingly and winced but managed to smile wryly "sorry but I've got a friend who wouldn't like that" he took a side way glance at Crow perched on top of the ship looking down. His smile faded into a grimace _'knowing him, he'd probably travel to the afterlife, bring my soul back into my body just to kick my ass for losing to a fucking shota of all things.'_

The side of Ieyasu's white cloth headband was soaked red and a small stream of blood ran down very slowly. His body sported multiple bruising and he ached all over but managed to shrug off the pain and went to charge after Nyau again before he started playing the flute.

"Ieyasu!" said boy halted and turned to the voice of his partner.

"Sayo?" he questioned but had to think fast and drop the blade in hand to catch his twin swords.

He caught the sheathed blades strapped together with one hand, used his other hand to quickly unsheathe both swords. Tossed both sheathes away and held both swords in a close stance, all in quick succession.

"Thanks Sayo I got this covered" he leveled a glare at is opponent and Sayo also did the same, not forgetting that 'face collection' comment.

Sayo didn't even need to use Spectator to see the amount of fear the boy was showing, he clutched his flute tightly. The weapon didn't make the man, or so they say and Nyau was no fool, he saw the advantage those swords would give the assassin in battle. He was already having a hard time with him before but now, he would lose their next confrontation.

 _'I'll have to use my trump card'_ he thought and tried to subtly bring his Teigu closer.

"No chance!" Ieyasu shouted, garnering the attention of Braht.

Braht saw Ieyasu charge with his weapons of choice at the now fearful boy, leaving Sayo to stay behind, bow and arrow poised to strike if something went wrong. She respected both men enough to let them have their one-on-one fights, even on a mission but like Tatsumi, wasn't willing to let them die, honor be damned, she is an assassin not a warrior. Nevertheless Braht smiled at her, River was also watching, a pensive look on his face

"Hmm" he hummed, getting his former subordinate's attention "you have very skilled allies, a shame, they would have been perfect as Esdese-sama's subordinates" he mused aloud.

Braht scoffed with a smirk "funny thing about that, those two originally came here to join the imperial army" he informed with a smirk.

River raised an eyebrow slowly "oh?"

"Yeah" his smirk turned into a frown "but after _one_ day they saw how rotten the capital is and decided to help us uproot the corruption and since Esdese's army supports the Capital including the Prime Minister, they wouldn't want to work with Esdese at all" he took out a comb and began styling his hair before looking pointedly at him, with something akin to disappointment "and neither would I for that matter" he concluded resolutely.

"...you know, I was about to offer you a position as part of Esdese-sama's army" he paused to close his eyes "but after making a declaration like that, I can see that you won't be persuaded"

Braht straightened his posture, putting both hands on his hips, his stance was laid back yet his expression grim. River also glared at him, an intense silence occurred, only broken by the noise of Ieyasu's and Nyau's fighting in the background but neither paid attention.

It was Braht who broke the silence with a narrowed gaze "if neither of us can use our Teigu..."

"Then we'll have to settle this with our swords!" River finished heatedly as he whipped out a syringe from his coat pocket. It was filled with an odd colored almost murky liquid.

Braht's stance tensed as he watched River inject himself, once finished he discarded the empty syringe and drew his sword

"You'll have to forgive me for doping but you _are_ my opponent after all"

Braht glared at him and tapped his shoulder guard twice, the back of his armor snapped opened and he grabbed the sword encased inside before wordlessly charging at his former superior officer and friend.

Meanwhile a bloodied, panting Nyau blocked another attack, Ieyasu pressed onwards, the weakened boys knees buckled until he dropped to them. He was going to die, he knew it, Ieyasu knew it and Sayo, who was watching, knew it as well. Still struggling he managed to see that River was also on his last leg, using his sword to fight rather than his Teigu.

At this point he was leaning backwards to the ground while on his knee, his feeble flute blocking for the most part but the near the tip of the swords were pressing into his shoulders, drawing blood in the process.

"Gah" he yelped in pain.

As he gazed into Ieyasu's eyes his resistance slowly stopped. Faster than he could react, Ieyasu pulled one of his blade back and thrust it through his chest. Blood filled Nyau's airway and his gasps of pain came out as mere gurgles. Pulling out his blade Ieyasu spun and brought both sword around his head and neck, resulting in a decapitation. The two pieces of Nyau's head sailed away and landed near Braht and River's battle.

An equally bewildered Sayo and Ieyasu watched as the intense fight unfolded before them, each not believing that an injured person could move as they did. Eventually Braht sliced apart the pit of his gut and with a pain filled gasp, River fell back.

The former general grinned manically **Secret Skill: Blades Of Blood**.

From the wound, his blood struck out in the form of blades towards him, he saw the attack coming the moment he saw blood splashing about and was ready for it. Braht used his Incursio blade to mostly deflect the attack, the few that went through his defenses and impacted him.

"Bro/Braht!" Ieyasu and Sayo shouted as they rushed to his aid.

"It's alright, the wounds are not fatal" he reassured them although he had to lean on Ieyasu to properly stand.

"Braht" River's voice strained voice called out weakly "there is one more thing I want to tell you.

They turned to see River lying on his back, he was bleeding but despite the deep wound, wasn't bleeding profusely. He looked pale, the earlier attack drained him of most of the blood in the immediate area of the wound.

"The true reason I decided to join her army" he continued.

River grasped the chain around his neck as he recounted his tale, of how Esdese came to him while he was imprisoned and offered him a place in her army. She saved his life and gave him purpose again..

"In that moment" he grasped the chain, which had Esdese's symbol, tighter "I adored her" he grinned savagely "Therefore" he struggled to sit up and point a finger at Braht "as one who exists solely to serve Esdese-sama, I will be giving her your life!" he loudly declared.

Just then Braht started vomiting blood, alerting three individuals as Braht spoke "that syringe, it wasn't just a strengthening serum, t-there was a deadly poison mixed in" he threw up blood again after finishing the sentence.

Before river could continue Crow cawed loudly enough to garner everyone's attention, including River who shakily turned towards the source. Crow flapped its wings and circled twice before diving headfirst into the deck. Once it touched down, flame like black matter erupted from the floor. River's eyes widened, as did the Night Raid members. The black flames receded, not leaving a single scorch mark and revealing the form of a person.

Tatsumi stood there, a frown present but otherwise didn't seem to convey any emotion. He walked towards where Braht was present, he regarded the bewildered look of River with a barely noticeable sideway glance before muttering

"Misguided fool" then focused his attention on Braht "set him down" he ordered coolly.

Sayo and Ieyasu did so at once and Tatsumi wordlessly hovered his palms over Braht's torso. Soon enough black matter poured from his sleeves and coated Braht's entire torso.

"Stay still so I can extract the poison" he remarked but Braht really didn't have a choice, his body was already feeling numb.

River shook off the stupor he was in from seeing Tatsumi's entrance before speaking "it's too late, the poison is already flowing in his body" Sayo and Ieyasu in particular glared at him but he smiled weakly "it looks like...I will be going first...old..friend" with that he fell back down permanently.

"He's right" Tatsumi said solemnly as rain began to pour onto the deck.

"What are you talking about?" Ieyasu said with incredulous anger "you can heal him can't you?"

Tatsumi shook his head slowly "the poison is spreading faster than I can destroy it, I can maybe give him a few more minutes but he'll eventually die"

"No" Sayo gasped silently with hands covering her mouth. She looked to Braht with sadness in her eyes.

Ieyasu meanwhile shook with uncontrollable rage, his friend, someone who he barely knew for a full month but would call him his brother, his mentor was dying before his eyes, yet he couldn't do anything about it.

"What do you want me to do?" Tatsumi said to Braht.

Braht himself didn't seem too concerned that he was going to die, instead he smiled, after all he knew what he signed up for, but the least he could do was give their comrades some peace of mind.

"Can you take us back to base, I want to say goodbye" he replied weakly.

Tatsumi nodded slightly and stood, the black ink still sustaining Braht's body temporarily. Tatsumi spread both arms before they were all enveloped in the darkness and disappeared back to Night Raid's base. Tatsumi also retrieved Akame and Raback from their fruitless mission in order to make peace with their dying comrade. Leone was already on her way back after retreating from Esdese herself, she too was transported.

Tatsumi managed to use his powers to give Braht almost twenty minutes of extra time before the fast acting poison broke through his defenses and claimed the assassin's life. During that time many words were said and some tears were shed, mostly by Schere second only by Ieyasu. In the end though Braht died peacefully with a smile on his face surrounded by all of his friends.

For his effort Tatsumi was thoroughly exhausted, he didn't mention it to anyone but he didn't use Dark Slayer to heal, didn't need to, he was mostly alone. Firstly the technique itself doesn't necessarily heal the wounds more like it isolates the area wound from deteriorating further and then forces the natural healing of humans into overdrive.

The process itself is tedious and since he doesn't practice it all that much, it is a relatively new skill that requires much concentration. Tatsumi has continuously fought back the poison from killing him by using the darkness to eliminate it on a microscopic level for almost twenty minutes, needless to say he collapsed two minutes after.

"Tatsumi!?" Sayo shrieked in alarm.

This was the first time she'd ever seen him collapse out of exhaustion, or at all for that matter. After Braht passed away not even five minutes ago, she was still volatile enough to be worried about everyone's safety.

She was quick to be at his side, after frantically searching for his pulse and hearing his light snore she calmed down slightly.

"Is he alright?" Ieyasu asked.

Najenda passed the group and looked at Tatsumi "he's fine, he probably collapsed from exhaustion, I can't help but think that whatever he did to stop the poison from progressing in Braht's system was not an easy task" she said.

Sayo and Ieyasu brought Tatsumi to their bed and Sayo removed his blindfold and cloak to make him more comfortable. They buried Braht later that day, though they weren't as sad since they got to say their goodbyes. Braht gave Incursio to Ieyasu as a parting gift, the armor evolved to fit Ieyasu's less bulky frame.

Tatsumi missed all of this and by the time he woke up it was already the next morning, the sun hadn't even come up yet. He smelled the familiar scent of Sayo and figured that she must have placed him in the empty room. He felt the lack of clothing and figured she must have also taken them off, she was caring like that. Although she didn't need to take off his coat but then again he didn't tell her that it actually kept him cool or warm depending on the temperature.

He found his cloak and plated headband easily enough and put them on. Thinking about it, he hasn't actually fainted from pure exhaustion in a long while. He knows the reason though, this happened to him when he discovered a new technique and overuses it. He would get something out of his time in Najenda's service yet, though he doesn't think he'll put himself in a position to use it often afterwards.

Tying the headband around his eyes Tatsumi went to his second order of business, finding out what exactly he missed while he was unconscious. He opened the telepathic link between himself and Crow then silently waited for the information to be relayed to himself. He now knew the funeral procession of Braht, how Ieyasu received his Teigu and how he activated it. That particular image made him grin.

"Looks like someone's ready for the next level of training" he said to himself.

Ieyasu shivered in his sleep.

It's too bad he isn't Ieyasu's teacher anymore though. The next scene was of Najenda, apparently she was to be notified the moment he woke up, she needed to talk to him. Tatsumi sighed, he wondered if it had to do with Braht's death. He felt really bad about it, especially since he meant so much to his best friend. What's done can't be undone though and Tatsumi will be on the lookout for the use of poisons next time, if there will _be_ a next time.

Now he wondered what he should do, everyone is currently asleep and the sun would be up soon, a few short hours to be exact. Of course he is wondering if he should either stay and wait until Najenda is awake or go back to his three newly appointed servants. He told them before that he would be gone shortly, it has been hours since then and the place where he left them isn't necessarily a _safe_ place for three girls to be at alone.

"Hmm" he seemed to mull his decision over.

He shook his head, no, this would be their first trial, if they are going to master their powers and be competent enough for him to entrust his life to them then they would need to be hardened. He was at a more disadvantaged state when he first got the Dark Slayer power, as far as he's concerned they have all they need to be alive.

They are older than he was, have prior knowledge about their situation, they can see and above all they have each other. He didn't have _any_ of those things back then, so if they end up dead then they don't deserve to be his servants. Harsh, but he is supposed to entrust his life to them at some point in their relationship and that is something he doesn't take lightly.

"They'll survive" he spoke evenly before laying on the bed "they have to."

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

Fal dodged a claw swipe and used a dark matter infused punch on her attacker's face, knocking out one of its fangs. It roared in pain but was silent as a large shadowy snake coiled around its body and bit into its neck and tore its throat out. The danger beast struggled futily for a few moments before it dyed. The snake opened its large maw and began to swallow its body whole, the entire process took less than one minute.

The moment that the danger beast was ingested the snake dissolved into an ink like liquid and slithered towards Luna where it assumed its usual position as her shadow.

"I had that one Luna!" Fal exclaimed.

Luna's expression was melancholy as she replied "you can have this one" she pointed behind herself.

Fal looked behind her friend in confusion but heard heavy steps coming closer, Luna backed away and her shadow tensed and rose around her in streams. Fal eyed her inquisitively before focusing on whatever was headed their way. Eventually tree branches swayed away as it got closer before

*ROOOOOAAAARRR*

The loud roar was enough to make her jump a bit not because of the roar itself but from the volume. It also sounded different, like a combination of a wolf's howl and a high pitched whine. Her thoughts were set aside as the creature jumped out of the foliage and unto the clearing; it let another high pitched roar that had both girls covering their ears. When it was finished Fal finally had a good look at it.

The creature was big, about the size of a devil bear, it had a thick body lined with black shaggy fur, stocky legs and to horns curved back. The creature stood on its hind legs, revealing that it was almost 10 feet tall, its claws were sharp 5 inches on its fingers as it glared at them, especially at Luna. Fal noticed this and looked at her quizzically but the bluenette seemed impassive, the only indication of her emotion would be her shadow constantly wavering beneath her.

Fal turned to the creature and another question was asked "What is that thing?" she pointed at it.

"It's a Black Howler, a B-rank danger beast. I tried to kill it but it was stronger than I thought" she paused to narrow her eyes "and smarter too."

She basically underestimated it Fal concluded before cracking her knuckles "you owe me one anyway" she said as the shadow covered her skin in tattoos while her auburn eyes turned black with purple outline.

Fal's claws now had quality to them and were longer than this morning. Tatsumi said that in order for their powers to evolve and grow, they needed to properly maintain it.

He said that they should treat it like they would their body, which meant exercising by using it often to reduce recoil and increase the amount of time they can use it before becoming exhausted. Feeding to make it grow by means of absorbing danger beasts. He also explained that to increase the quality of their powers they needed to absorb the souls of the wicked. Honestly Fal had no idea what he meant by that, Luna seems to have an idea but since he said not to worry about it for now, she didn't.

And thus, the three of them have been out in the forest hunting for the past twelve hours. During those hours, they've discovered a few things about themselves. One of those discoveries made was that they apparently didn't need to eat or even drink anything. Luna says that since their bodies are connected to their powers now and they have been basically feeding it, they wouldn't need to eat food themselves. Fal could understand that, it made sense in a way.

Out of the three, Fal was the one who was the most aggressive at hunting danger beasts which made sense Luna was too demure while Air was too meek to fight. As it stands Fal would be the strongest out of them, her actions speaking volumes of how she absolutely hated feeling weak and unable to protect her friends or her new master.

Fal lunged at it and swiped it with her claws, the Howler backed away on all fours with surprising speed for bit hulking form. It dashed at Fal the moment she touched down and used _its_ superior claws to swipe at her three times before sending her barreling through a tree. Luna took that opportunity to attack.

Luna's shadow slinked on the ground until it was close to the danger beast now headed towards her friend. With a sharp thrust of her hand the shadow erupted in a series of spikes piercing its hide. The beast roared in pain before leaping back, it stared at Luna with a low growl but its attention shifted as her shadow rose to Form a black lion-like danger beat with three horns on its head.

The shadow lion roared as did the Howler before they lunged at each other. Luna left her shadow puppet to check on her friend

"Fal!" she spoke aloud walking through the fallen debris of branches and trees.

Luna heard a faint groan and saw Fal unconscious with deep slash marks across her body but what mortified the bluenette was the twisted way her body was set. Fal's right arm and left leg were unnaturally bent and she was sure that she had a broken neck.

"No, no, no.." she kept repeating making her way towards her.

She knelt down beside her with tears threatening to come out but she wiped her face, her once placid face turning into a scowl as her darken eyes seemed to glow eerily purple. Her eyes set on the howler who had her shadow puppet pinned while sinking its teeth inside its neck. Luna sprinted towards it and waved her hands.

The shadow puppet the Howler was biting melted like ink before wrapping around its neck, transforming into a snake like creature and bit into its head. Blood leaked from the wounds of the wounds on the Howler's head as it wrestled with the creature to release it. Luna uncharacteristically cursed under her breath, she wasn't strong enough to create something big enough to kill it.

Meanwhile Fal's shadow crept up to her neck and with an audible *SNAP* her neck was shifted into place. She gasped before groaning in pain.

"Wha-what happened?" she said to herself.

The last thing she remembered was fighting some…danger..beast. Recent memories started coming to her and she realized something

' _I_ died _!?_ ' she thought in panic.

She remembered the Howler sending her through a tree and even with her shadow armor she felt pain in her head when her neck angled in a way it wasn't supposed to before she blacked out. Fal started to panic and was about to stand but fell back down, she looked at her feet and saw that her legs were twisted.

She stared at them for a good while before she scowled "dammit, not again!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Luna whirled around "FAL!?"

"LUNA!" she shouted back while trying to use her hands to brace herself up but noticed she could only move one.

Fal looked at her twisted arm with bone sticking out of it, she also noticed how she didn't feel any pain or if she did it was passed long ago. Not wondering anymore and frankly not caring, she concentrated on her arm first, the shadow casting over the limb totally. With a few sickening crunches which made Fal cringe her hand was back normal.

She clenched and unclenched the darkened appendage before focusing on her legs which looked like they were already healing. The shadow moved over them to speed the process, just like before the shadow forced the bones into place before healing them and just like before Fal didn't feel any pain.

She stood up on shaky legs at first before gathering her bearings and sprinted towards where she heard Luna. She came out just in time to see the Howler rip off Luna's shadow serpent, she grinned with malice before delivering a shadow powered drop kick to its face. The Howler was flying into a tree and Fal felt satisfaction when she saw a few of its bloody teeth on the grass.

Fal scrambled to her feet and ran after it again, this time the shadow enveloped her right arm forming a larger version of her claws. The dazed Howler stood on its hind legs and did a swipe with its own claws as Fal met it with her own. The result was quick as Fal slashed off its entire arm in one swing.

The danger beast howled in pain attempting to pathetically retreat but Fal wasn't having any of it. The shadow on her body formed tendrils which pierced through the Howler, pinning it to the tree and hoisting the girl up so she could look at its face. Fal did a feral grin as her darkened eyes shone darkly purple.

The shadow spread to both her arms reforming her claws, the Howler was pinned to the tree by her tendrils, it watched helplessly as the girl reared her arms back and in one swipe decapitated the danger beast. It did not stop there as one of the tendrils latched onto the head before it fell to the ground and absorbed it. It repeated this process with the rest of the danger beast's body, it gradually becoming smaller and smaller until there was nothing left.

The shadow also became larger until it consumed Fal herself until it started receding onto her skin. Luna noted on the sidelines that the armor seemed to have grown larger along with Fal's claws. In fact for all intents and purposes Fal gained the Howler's claws as it looked exactly the same. To compensate for this her shadow encompassed her entire arm instead of just her hand and the claws start from halfway up her elbow instead of her fingers.

Fal admired her new 'weapons' with interest before swiping at the tree. A large chunk was cut from it before it toppled over and Fal began to do a little cheer at this. Luna looked at her impassively with a small smile before she approached her.

"Are you alright Fal?"

Fal glanced away from her claws "hmm? Oh yeah never better" she tilted her head "why?"

Luna was about to speak about what was clearly her death but shook her head "nothing. We should find Air, maybe master has returned" she offered but didn't wait for a reply before walking away.

The armor and claws slinked back to the ground to form a regular shadow as Fal shrugged before following her blue haired friend with both hands behind her head. They didn't have to walk long as the sounds of battle were heard. It was mostly the sounds of the beastly roar of a danger beast followed by flesh ripping and then bloodied gurgle of pain. The duo cleared the forest just in time to see Air 'consume' her prey.

Another discovery worth noting to Luna (and Tatsumi for that matter) was the method of how each of them consumed. They consumed differently due to the nature of their power, Fal's armor absorbs the freshly dead or dying bodies directly into herself while Luna's shadow beasts simply eats them. Air's method has to be the easiest yet oddest out of the three and Luna had to admit to being a little jealous of it, Fal's already voiced her jealousy.

At the moment Air was sitting on her 'pillow' as that's what they decided to call it, with one end extending towards the dead danger beasts shadow. What happened next was something that despite what they could do still left Luna and Fal not believing their eyes. Air's pillow was actually siphoning the shadow from the danger beast.

Air's head whipped in their direction "Master?" she said with a bright smile

"Nope just us" Fal replied uncaringly.

Air's expression turned to one of disappointment "oh" she said dejectedly

The siphoning was completed leaving the 'shell' of what was a danger beast; Fal went over and kicked it while Air moved away. The chalk white corpse was scattered like ashes until it became nothingness while drifting in the slight breeze of the night. Tatsumi said that unlike her and Fal, Air's Dark Slayer power wasn't organic in nature, meaning her weapons weren't alive per se.

The benefit is that Air needed only to absorb shadows itself to grow, not limited to organics. She could take the shadows from just about anything from animals to even the trees but in the case of living things she would need to either need to weaken it before hand or if she is stronger then she didn't need to. The result would be the same in the end after each siphoning, what was once the body became nothing more than an hollow husk.

Air actually asked why that is and Tatsumi said that when they 'consume' something, they are essentially taking that things soul and adopting its characteristics. The stronger that thing is the more difficult it's soul to take. In Air's case she only needs the shadow to create synthetic weaponry so _any_ will do.

The downside of this is that she has to be in constant control of her power for it to be effective. Unlikeher friends her power makes purely synthetic things and so doesn't necessarily has a mind of its own which means it can only attack and defend as her awareness allows. As it stands now Air is the strongest yet most vulnerable of the three.

Luna approached Air "are you okay?"

Air lay on her pillow face first, her body sinking into it comfortably "yeph" she answered muffled.

Luna sat on her elevated shadow "I'm sure master has a good reason for not being here" she sympathized, although a little cruel she could understand the reasoning of why he left them.

"…." She raised her head, sad pink eyes met apathetic blue before Air spoke "I know."

Of course she knew, she hadn't actually seen him fight but she could tell that her master was powerful, she witnessed it firsthand when he saved them. They had a long ways to go before they could actually protect him like they should. Air sighed and looked to the moon wondering if things will always be like this and if so, she really wished she could sleep.

Another discovery they made happened to be the fact that since they woke up, they've never once been tired, a bit winded from exertion, yes but never truly tired. They also didn't sleep because of this and none of them felt sleepy at the moment despite being awake for most of the day. Even Luna couldn't explain that but Air suggested that since they're servants who are supposed to _protect_ Tatsumi then they would forgo sleep to protect him 24/7. They would ask Tatsumi when they see him again.

Unbeknownst to them, Crow perched silently on a nearby tree branch, watching over them, it meld completely with the shades, the only thing visible are its dim red eyes. Back at Night Raid HQ Tatsumi sighed before cutting his link with Crow. It looks like they aren't as defenseless as he originally though which could be a bad thing all on its own.

Dwelling on it isn't going to do much for him and he still had a good few hours before he was to meet Najenda. A short nap will won't kill him, he settled down into his bed and his breathing calmed even further as he went into the land of sleep.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I would like make a personal apology to 518 I really thought I could make the eventual meeting of Tatsumi and Esdese happen this chapter I really did but I read the manga and I overlooked something which happened before that.**

 **I also saw an opportunity to expound a little on Sayo and especially Ieyasu's relationship with Tatsumi after all if you guys have been reading thus far then you'd know, one does not just** _ **become**_ **friends with Tatsumi and believe me Tatsumi was a lot worst than he was** _ **before**_ **he became friends with them.**

 **I think I'll burrow from Arrow in that regard when writing next chapter, do some flashbacks and this time I promise you that Tatsumi and Esdese will meet next chapter but that won't be the focus.**


	6. Kill The Training

**Author's Notes: Hello everyone and Merry Christmas and a happy new year and for future reference know this. 2016 may well be a hard year for me as I've got to do remedial classes and have to focus a bit on school and getting a job afterwards, you know, life. Throughout it all you may not see me for some time but I guarantee I will** _ **never**_ **leave this story unfinished.**

 **Okay so change of plans for this chapter, I wanted it to be something of a back story behind Tatsumi's friendship with Sayo and Ieyasu and just why he acts differently around them. Unfortunately the setting I had in mind for that was recently shattered by an observation I found so I'll have to find another opportunity to reveal it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Kill The Training**

"You want me to what?" Tatsumi asked as he stood outside with the entirety of Night Raid present.

"Yeah boss" Mein interjected loudly "you can't expect this twerp to-"

"Mein!" With that Najenda cut of the sniper mid rant.

Once she settled to grumbling under her breath Najenda turned to the blind boy "and as I've said before, I want you to help in training the rest of Night Raid while I'm gone."

He tilted his head slightly "why?"

"One of our strongest members died" she ignored the crestfallen faces and slight winces as she continued "and with him gone so is a chunk of our overall strength."

No one disputed that, for all his personality quirks Bulat was arguably the strongest member in Night Raid.

"I've also received word from a source that Esdese is assembling a taskforce of Teigu users." She added gravely.

Tatsumi didn't need to see to know that everyone was shocked and while he could see the logic in her decision one thing still troubled him.

"Okay I understand that but why me? It's not as if they couldn't do this on their own so why ask me to help them?"

Though it is not implied she could see what he was hinting at "you're absolutely right, they don't necessarily _need_ you to train them and truthfully it was Ieyasu who suggested it"

Everyone looked at the boy in question, he had a determined look on his face which Tatsumi understood from Crow's eyes.

"You're the strongest guy I know Tatsumi" Ieyasu began then smiled "what better way to get stronger than to train with someone like you?"

Mein scoffed at them "oh please he couldn't be any stronger than Akame or Bulat" she did a once over of the brunette "or even Rabac"

"Oi!"

"Or you?" she heard him say.

Mein looked him dead in…where she thought is his eyes would be, and replied "that's right" there was a challenging tone in her voice.

There was a bout of silence. No one noticed Sayo and Ieyasu swallowing lightly with a slight expression of fear.

Tatsumi slowly turned to Najenda and _smiled,_ as if there was a draft the group collectively shuddered "I will train them to get stronger but I won't be showing them anything related to assassinations, that's their problem" he said bluntly.

"That's alright, I doubt we'll be using subtlety when fighting Esdese's taskforce" she replied.

"I expect to be compensated"

"Naturally, is there anything else?" she queried.

Tatsumi 'looked' to the sky in thought for a moment before he lightly tapped his fist into his palm in realization.

"Oh yeah" his head turned to the one eyed woman "I'm going to let my servants stay here and train too" he spoke "if that's alright with you?" he asked politely.

"WHAT!?" was the collective cry of everyone except Akame, Sheele and Najenda.

"That can be arranged" Najenda replied evenly "will that be all?"

"Yes" he said before he was dragged away by Ieyasu.

"Since when did you have servants!?" he all but yelled.

"…since two days ago" he answered calmly then paused "could you let me go now?"

Ieyasu let him go and he cleaned the wrinkles from his coat "I'll be going to pick them up now" he stated before sinking into his shadow like it was liquid.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by Leone "I'll never get used to that" she mumbled gaining several nods of approval.

* * *

After hours of hunting Luna finally made a breakthrough with her powers. like Fal did before her it evolved but that wasn't the breakthrough. In her village there weren't many books, they had to sell most of them off to pay the heavy taxes especially ones of educational value. So the people of the village relied more on stories than actual written texts. Most of the stories were of especially unique danger beasts which while they weren't ranked high are dangerous to humans nonetheless.

An idea came as her master's words echoed in her mind. It started out as a rough imagery of what a particular danger beast looks like. To her surprise it began to form, then she added some more details as best as she remembered from the book. It took her about twenty minutes and some deviation to fill in the void but she'd done it.

Luna for the first time had actually _created_ her very own shadow beast although the creature itself wasn't really much. It looked like black variation of a snake except with a longer head which look almost sharpened at the corners, it had large red eyes and the only indication of a mouth is the long line it had at the lower corner of its head but when opened reveals large jagged teeth.

Despite it's size Luna would admit that it would look creepy to anyone else but strangely for some reason she wasn't afraid of it. The creature was like a pet to her, in fact she had a kind of empathy with any creature her power made. When they fought and got injured she would frown, when they hunted and ate she would smile.

At one point when one of her creations did a good hunt she couldn't help but scratch behind its ears while cooing praises towards it. For a mostly apathetic individual who uses cold logic and rationalization it was really awkward and thankfully she was alone. A croon alerted her to her newest creation as it slithered to her leg, she was unmoving as it made its way up her body.

It didn't stop until they were at eye level, something about having it so close felt _right_ to her. Luna didn't want to dispel this one, it hasn't even been an hour since she created it and already she was attached. Of course her master had told her about how they would feel a preference for darkness, having it around them at all times or at least that's how he felt.

Suddenly the creature shifted and the most peculiar thing happened, it was as if for a moment something switched her brain. In this moment her senses weren't her own, she was seeing the world through a pinhole. More importantly she wasn't looking at the creature anymore but rather at

"Master" she whirled around to see Tatsumi standing in the shade of the tree, all thoughts of what just occurred pushed back for now.

"Hey Luna" he greeted approaching her but stopped and tilted his head slightly "you already made something" he stated rather than asked.

"Yes master" she replied.

"It took me months to create Crow" he idly stated and the bird squawked from its perch on the tree branch.

Luna hadn't even noticed the bird was there but if he came through the tree then had the crow been watching her the entire time? Luna was so caught up in her thoughts that she jolted when he ruffled her hair.

"M-master?" she questioned.

"Good job" he congratulated with a small smile before it fell to a neutral albeit light frown "let's go find the others, we're moving" he finished heading in the direction of Air or Fal.

"Y-yes" she stuttered following at a respectable distance fitting for a servant. She didn't mind and the creature she momentarily forgot nuzzled against her face.

"What're you going to name it?" she heard him ask.

That was a good question, she glanced at the creature while racking her brain for a suitable name, obviously she can't call it what the creature started out as during her time making it. Eventually she sighed

"Can't think of anything?" he commented idly.

"No" she said looking down a little.

Tatsumi noted how dejected she sounded which wasn't very different from her usual monotone voice is but the slightly lower octave is a dead giveaway for him.

"Don't worry about it" he reassured "you'll figure something out" he turned his head just enough for her to see a small smile grace his lips.

Luna didn't know why but for some reason his reassurance had more impact on her attitude than even he seemed to realize. Her cheeks reddened slightly at seeing the ghost of a smile

"Thank you m-"

"MASTER!"

Luna's voice was overshadowed by the cheerful greeting of her pink haired companion. The bluenette immediately lifted Darkslayer, the shadow creature receded into her shadow as her eyes returned to their cerulean color. Luna even pulled down her rabbit eared hood once the pinkette was close to hide her embarrassment.

"Hey Air, Fal" he greeted casually "did you miss me?"

"Not really" Fal shrugged "too busy killing stuff"

Fal didn't seem to mind but Air was a different story if the expression she sported was anything to go by. Luna and Fal for as long as they knew her have never seen Air angry before, in fact they don't really believe she could even pull off an angry expression. So instead she puffed her cheeks with a furrowed brow.

"Master, you said it wouldn't take long and you'd be back later. What happened? Where were you? How come you didn't tell us you weren't coming back!?" Each question grew louder until she was shouting.

With each sentence she rose on the cloud until she towered over the older boy. Throughout it all Luna and Fal's eyes gradually widened with each question and at the end of her rant they both had to mentally ask

' _Where is this coming from?'_

Tatsumi for his part remained perfectly calm and spoke in a manner reflecting as such "sorry I forgot to tell you earlier _mom_ " his voice had a hint of mirth.

Air gave him a look of disbelief, his reply seemed to snap Luna and Fal out of their shock at seeing this new side of their friend to see the comedy of the situation. Luna smirked under her hood while Fal was practically rolling on the ground laughing.

Meanwhile realization dawned on Air's gradually reddening face at just _how_ she questioned him and the joke sank in, as did her embarrassment. Tatsumi's teasing smirk only cemented this and she stuffed her face in the shadowy cloud while hovering away from them.

Tatsumi walked over to the sulking pinkette and although her face was still flushed looked to him

"Master?"

"I missed you too" he patted her head.

Air smiled at him, the moment would have been perfect except Fal hadn't stopped laughing causing the smile to drop from her face.

"You can stop laughing now Fal" Luna deadpanned.

Slowing down to catch her breath Fal looked around and her slow laugh turned to an awkward chuckle when she saw Tatsumi regard her with his neutral frown.

"Heh, heh sorry" she scratched the back of her head.

' _No you're not'_ they all thought.

Tatsumi sighed "Air turn off Darkslayer we're going"

His servants looked confused "going where?" Air questioned but obeyed.

Once Fal and Luna were close he answered "to meet some friends" as the words were uttered the girls found themselves enveloped in darkness.

* * *

"Ieyasu?"

"*Grunt* Yes"

"Do you think Tatsumi was serious when he said he had 'servants'? Sayo air quoted.

Ieyasu sighed from under her but couldn't help but wonder about that himself. For the short time he's known him Tatsumi didn't like to depend on people to do things for him. Indeed Tatsumi having a servant sounded redundant. The only exception would be Sayo and that's because she's _very_ persistent in helping him.

Now back to her question "probably" he really didn't know.

"You don't know do you?" she deadpanned.

"Yeah" he admitted then his eyes went wide "ugh, you made me lose count!" he exclaimed frustrated.

"He sounded serious" surprisingly it was Akame who spoke gaining the attention of both of them or at least Sayo's attention since Ieyasu had to start his pushups all over again.

"How'd you figure?" she asked inquisitively

She shrugged "a feeling" she replied vaguely.

"I don't really see a problem with Tatsumi having a servant" Schere gave her two cents "he's blind after all."

"I wouldn't *grunt* say that *grunt* to his face *grunt* if I were *grunt* you" Ieyasu wheezed.

Seeing her confused expression Sayo elaborated "Tatsumi hates it when people think he's helpless because he's blind."

"Oh" Schere nodded in understanding.

"That's why it's so weird, he didn't even let Ieyasu show him around the village when we first met so how can someone that stubborn have _servants_?" she stressed.

Leone smirked after staying silent "oh then how come you were holding his hand to lead him around then, hmm?" she said teasingly.

Sayo knew exactly what she was talking about and grasped for an answer "I-I, uh.." she trailed off.

At first it was because he was blind but it grew to be something of a knee jerk reaction every time they have to navigate through a crowd.

"Could it be that you lo-"

"Kaw" Leone's head swiveled to the sound as did everyone else.

Sayo got off Ieyasu who stood up messaging his slightly aching arms. Akame came off Rabac who stood up shakily wiping the sweat from his brow. All present watched as a dome of darkness arose from the earth then sunk back to the ground revealing four persons.

Sayo was shocked speechless, Ieyasu and Rabac's jaws dropped in astonishment, Schere blinked in surprise, Mein gaped in flushed fury, Akame..stared blankly and Leone was the first to comment.

"Damn Tatsumi, didn't picture you as one _those_ types of guys" she said in an eerily calm voice with an equally calm expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked stepping forward with the three girls trailing behind.

Leone's brow furrowed as she looked at the girls but it was Mein who spoke or rather shouted

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? LOOK AT HOW THEY'RE DRESSED YOU **PERVERT**!"

The three girls blinked then looked at their state of dress. Air had the least damage done to her wardrobe, cuts and nicks from some close calls that showed a bit of skin including one that showed the waistline of her panties. Her hat was lost long ago but she never cared to look for it. For Luna the ear appendages were ripped off her hood and a particularly large tear on her clothes exposed some her torso but not enough to be obscene.

The two girls exchanged looks and when they looked to Fal they understood just what they were talking about. Luna mentally berated herself for not noticing sooner but her master just teleported them without prior notice. Air on the other hand was more vocal.

"Fal!" she shouted with embarrassment.

"What?"

Fal's clothes sustained the most damage, her sleeves were ripped off to her elbow for the left and to her shoulder for the right. She discarded her shoes for silent takedowns a few hours ago and her auburn raincoat were ripped showing her panties in plain view.

Fal looked down "oh" she realized "uh, whoops" honestly she could care less and Tatsumi picked that up.

Tatsumi sighed "Fal" she looked at him "next time make sure you tell me when you need clothes, understand?"

Fal grinned "you got it master!" she replied happily.

Tatsumi regarded her for a moment "Luna make sure **you** tell when she's not appropriately dressed" he paused "in fact _make sure_ she's dressed appropriately" he finished.

"Hey!"

"Yes Master" Luna answered coolly.

"Excuse me" Schere's voice called out "but who are they?"

"Oh, these are Air, Fal and Luna" he pointed to each "my servants."

"H-hi" Air greeted shyly hiding slightly behind her master.

"Hey" Fal's hands were folded eyeing each Night Raid member lingering on Leone.

"Hello" Luna greeted monotonously.

"Girls, these are the members of Night Raid" he introduced "do you guys have any spare clothes for them" he paused and sniffed the air "and maybe let them take a bath" he added.

At that the girls sniffed their armpits and grimaced "a bath will be much appreciated" Luna spoke.

"I'll show you the way" Schere volunteered.

Once they were inside Tatsumi turned towards them "so what now?"

Mein crossed her arms "you tell us, Boss said you would 'train' us" she air quoted.

"Show me what you've got" he replied.

It was a simple request but they could all sense the challenge.

Leone grinned "ooh, eager aren't we?"

"I have to establish the pecking order" he said bluntly.

It might have been her imagination but Leone could've sworn that although he was answering her question, he was 'looking' right at Mein when he said it.

"Who's first?" he asked again.

Mein was about to yell when Akame stepped forward to Leone's displeasure "aw I wanted to fight him first" the blonde whined as they gave them a wide berth.

Akame didn't answer, instead choosing to observe her opponent as she drew Murasame slowly. Tatsumi didn't even shift into a battle stance, he stood before her as casual as he's always been. Yet despite all of this Akame noticed with a bit a worry that.

' _He doesn't have any openings'_

No matter how she looked at it, that seemingly casual stance only gives the illusion of having an opening when in truth there is none. That's a troubling thought, does that mean he's on his guard 24/7? Not even she could pull something like that off and she's mostly alert.

"You're not attacking" Tatsumi interrupted her thoughts.

"You don't have any openings" she replied honestly.

There was a pause "you're the first person to ever figure that out" he commended as two black blades extended from his sleeves "you're skilled."

There was a moment of tense silence as the members of Night Raid even Mein, this was perhaps the first time they've seen Akame truly stumped on attacking someone.

There was a blurred movement of Tatsumi's arm and before they knew it one of his short swords was mere inches away from Akame. The assassin herself blocked the sword rather calmly, the black blade spun, obstructing her vision for a tenth of a second only to be caught by Tatsumi who closed the distance in that time.

Akame's eyes widened before she schooled her features and they clashed in a shower of sparks. The assassin found herself on the defensive of the clash blocking and parrying his strong strikes. He feigned an attack which she realized too late, he hooked one of his sword on the hilt between her hands, and blocked the blade with his other sword.

She went for a kick but he did something unexpected and flipped back carrying her forward. She thought he was going for a full body throw but that thought vanished when she felt a sharp pain in her abdominal area. Tatsumi kicked her off and into the air a good few feet, he flipped to his feet and launched after her.

Seeing him coming, Akame managed to right herself in the air just in time block a salvo of sword strikes, the last of which he landed at the apex of his ascent. The force caused her to plummet to the ground faster. Akame's legs buckled on impact, her eyes were still on Tatsumi's descent, so she managed to dodge the throwing knives that threatened to impact her.

Tatsumi went after her the moment he landed, the knives disappeared as his shadow passed over them. Akame also charged after him and they both clashed in a shower of rapid slashes for a second time. This time Akame was attacking with clenched teeth of exertion.

On the sidelines everyone had expressions of astonishment: Ieyasu's never actually seen Tatsumi fight this seriously before while the senior members of Night Raid couldn't believe that despite everything, Akame was actually losing.

Cuts started to appear over her body, a slash on her arm, a cut on her cheek, a swipe to her leg but they were superficial at best so she ignored them. Then to her shock Tatsumi started attacking even faster, so much so that she was being forced back. The only thing that was keeping her from getting seriously injured were her instincts, honed through years of battle.

Her head quickly tilted left avoiding damage resulting to a cut to the side of her forehead instead of the loss of her eye. Getting frustrated, she opted to doing something different, parrying another attack she spun to his blind spot and slashed. To her shock ducked and she found her vision flipped sideways.

No, Tatsumi swept her foot from under her, going with the spin he did a spinning uppercut to her face before she could stop her body from hitting the ground. The attack hit her jaw causing her to spin horizontally but even so she tried to slash at him while going with her momentum. Tatsumi back flipped from the attack.

Akame hit the ground twenty feet away, still rolling until she stopped by clawing at the ground. Her cheek was bruised and a small trail of blood slowly running down the corner of her lip. The entire courtyard was silent save for Akame's audible breaths.

"I'm sorry" Tatsumi apologized.

Taking a deep breath Akame stood "why is that?"

"I got carried away" he admitted "you're the strongest person I've fought" he lifted his sleeve to show a small but noticeable cut.

"When did she do that!?" Ieyasu shouted.

"The last move she did" Tatsumi replied.

 _The scene played out in slow motion, Akame spun behind Tatsumi and slashed, he ducked but the sword still managed to cut a portion of his sleeve._

"That is impressive" he commended.

Akame looked over the various cuts over her body "compared to the injuries I've sustained that was nothing" her voice was monotonous.

"Should I hold back some more?" he questioned.

"No" she had the sword pointed to him overhead "if we're to fight someone like Esdeath then we would need to train with someone close to her level."

"Okay" there was another bout of tense silence as they waited for each other to make the first move.

Blood slid down from a small shallow cut on her forearm to her elbow then to the ground. To Tatsumi that small droplet of blood sounded like a wave crashing against the jacked rocks on the ocean front. Both fighters shot passed each other and ended up on opposite sides facing away.

After a moment Tatsumi straightened himself "sorry but I can't let that sword cut me" he flicked the blood off his weapons at the same time Akame dropped Murasame as spurts of blood erupted from multiple shallow cuts along her arm.

Tatsumi approached the slightly panting swordswoman "did you really mean it when you said I was close to Esdese's level?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, I don't know if you could beat her" she admitted "but out of everyone here you're the closest."

Tatsumi nodded with what Ieyasu realized was a pensive frown, truth be told Tatsumi knew he wasn't weak per se but at the same time he knew that he isn't at his strongest currently. There is always room to get stronger especially with Darkslayer, being compared to the Empire's strongest, even if it's without certainty, made him curious.

"So who wants to go next?" he said before turning to those present.

Everyone looked among themselves "how about Mein or Leone" both girls flinched at their names being called.

"Uh" Leone was stumped, after her meeting with Esdese she learned that there are just some people out there who are monsters on a whole other level than her. She also acknowledged that she is no match for said monsters on her own. After seeing Akame so thoroughly outclassed, she's put Tatsumi on that list.

That's not the reason why she's hesitant though, it's not his power or skills, Leone could make friends with just about anyone if they're not trying to kill her. No, its Tatsumi himself, she's weary of him and Leone knew the feeling is coming from her Teigu's animal instincts.

She was afraid of Esdese because of the killing intent that radiated off of her but Tatsumi didn't exude ay killing intent at all, even when he was fighting. If she were to describe the feeling, it was like he was an empty void yet her instincts judged him to be a threat.

She bit her nail watching Mein argue with him _'why?'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone touching her…left boob. Her eyes shifted to the green haired, soon to be, dead man.

"Rabac" she said eerily calm.

"Heh, heh, heh" he laughed nervously with his hand _still_ on her breast.

Leone held up her palm and balled it into a fist where the cracks of her bone were audible.

*CRACK* Everyone on the sidelines except Tatsumi and Akame winced.

Leone dusted her palms while mentally cursing herself for letting her guard down around the pervert for even a second.

Ieyasu walked up to the pitiful man "why did you do it if you knew she was going to do that?"

"She was wide open, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity" his voice was muffled due to his face still in the ground.

"Was it worth it?"

"Totally"

Mein and Ieyasu shook their heads slowly and Tatsumi coughed "like I was saying since Mein is afraid to practice with me alone-"

"I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

"-then you guys can come at me at once" he finished ignoring the sniper's outburst.

Leone smirked and activated her Teigu "oho, getting ahead of ourselves aren't we?" she teased lightheartedly.

Mein already had Tatsumi in Pumpkin's sights before he even finished the sentence, Rabac took a step back as he stretched some strings between his fingers and lastly Ieyasu donned the Incursio armor.

Akame went to retrieve Murasame when Tatsumi reached for it, everyone froze "ah" Akame managed to get out before he picked up the sword and seemed to examine it. A closer look would reveal that he was actually letting Crow get a better look at it.

"Y-you actually touched it" Rabac managed to finally say.

"I did" was Tatsumi's reply "is that a problem?" he asked twirling the sword once.

Akame approached him "if anyone not compatible touched Murasame then they will be infected with a curse and die" she spoke eyeing him with much scrutiny.

Tatsumi paused "oh" he 'looked' at the blade "then I guess I'm compatible then" a blade extended from his free arm.

"Here" Tatsumi handed both swords to her "tell me if I got the weight and measurements right."

Akame's eyes widened by a fraction "this is.." she trailed off as she held up Murasame and the sword Tatsumi formed which was an exact copy of her Teigu. The only difference was that Tatsumi's blade was pitch black but aside from that was flawless, down to the weight.

"If you're all going to attack I figured you would want to practice with your sword without worrying about killing me from a cut" he spoke

Akame looked at him, blinked with the faintest of smiles "thank you" she sheathed Murasame and held the new sword with a stance.

"Don't thank me yet" he replied backing away as two short swords extended from is sleeve causing Leone to involuntarily shudder in anticipation.

"Just to be clear, I _won't_ be holding back so you don't have to either."

Leone was positively ecstatic "wouldn't dream of it."

Mein wordlessly pulled the trigger

And just with that the massac- er _training_ began

' _Just like that time'_ Ieyasu commented, a wave of nostalgia overcoming him.

…

A kick from Tatsumi sent Ieyasu flying into a tree _'yep, just like that time'_ he groaned.

Ieyasu rubbed his stomach, even with Incursio's armor Tatsumi's kicks still hurt, in fact it could be his imagination but it hurt even more than he remembered.

"Argh, dammit!" the curse drew his attention to the ongoing battle.

Tatsumi was exchanging rapid slashes against Akame who despite not having to worry about killing him with a single slash anymore was only faring slightly better than in her earlier exchange with the blind man. That is, until she saw Leone coming from his flank aiming high hoping to punch the back of his head. Akame prepared to aim low and slash at his legs, at the same time Mein fired Pumpkin and Sayo fired an arrow.

Tatsumi was covered on all sides but didn't do anything about it until Akame made a sweep at his legs with her Murasame look alike. He spun in the air, avoiding the slash and the blast from Pumpkin which was now on a direct course for Sayo who was already moving away. Using the momentum of his spin, he threw a dagger at Akame threw herself to the side to doge, his left struck out deflecting Leone's punch and his right leg attempted to hit her face but she blocked with her free forearm.

Leone felt pressure on her arm as Tatsumi used it as a temporary perch before doing back flip using his left leg to kick under her chin. Leone instinctively leaned back to avoid some of the damage but the blow managed to make her head snap back, she saw doubles. Still in mid flip Tatsumi did a corcksrew and threw daggers aimed directly at there heads.

Akame deflected the projectile; Mein shot it out of the air, Sayo dodged with a tilt of her head drawing another arrow while doing so and even Ieyasu ducked down. Leone didn't have time to do anything since he fired when she was stumbling but she managed to catch the dagger between her teeth with the only damage being a cut on her tongue.

The moment Tatsumi landed he was dodging a hail of arrow and spiritual blasts with ease. This battle had been going on for about 30 minutes now and so far Tatsumi could safely say that he may have underestimated them. No, more like the power of their Teigu surpassed his expectations.

He could handle Incursio since its trump card, invisibility, doesn't apply to a blind person and it only masked Ieyasu's appearance not presence. He could also damage Ieyasu despite the armor; his strength and speed though increased were not up to par.

Lionel made Leone persistent but her feral attacks made her predictable. She was strong and fast but it was her endurance that made her really a force to be reckoned with. Honestly Tatsumi was surprised the first time she got up from what was essentially a knockout punch. He got annoyed when she got up from the _fifth_ knockout attack.

Speaking of annoying, he dodged another dangerously accurate blast aimed to blow his head off before catching an equally accurate arrow from piercing his shoulder. He had to give Mein credit, she was an excellent sniper, her shots were precise to a point and Pumpkin made it so that if he went after her she would gain more power to fire.

This wouldn't be a problem but every time he made a move towards her there was an obstacle in the form of Sayo. Being able to predict his movements had its merits for a long range fighter like her. He had hoped that she would run out of arrows but apparently she's choosing her shots wisely with him.

He thought her well, too well..

Lastly there was Rabac whom hadn't made a move ever since Tatsumi punched him into the forest.

Wait where did he go?

It was then that Tatsumi realized just where Sayo and Mein were leading him, it can't be.

"Rabac now!" Ieyasu shouted.

Tatsumi tried to run but was intercepted by Akame, Leone and Ieyasu and forced to back into a tree. Just then wires wrapped around tightly to tie him to the plant which ironically was the same one he kicked Ieyasu into.

"Hah! How do you like that!?" The green haired assassin shouted.

Mein approached "about time" she sounded relieved even her cocky nature was somewhat diminished after fighting him for so long.

Sayo kept an arrow pointed at him while Ieyasu collapsed to his knees with Incursio receding back into a sword.

"Damn, Akame wasn't kidding when she said you could be on Esdese's level" Leone noted frowning at the thought of the blue haired general.

"Doesn't matter, we won" Rabac noted, very pleased.

Leone rolled her eyes "you barely did any work"

"So? I still caught him"

"You think you won?" Tatsumi spoke interrupting.

"You are incapacitated" Akame spoke gripping her sword, ready in case he tried something.

"Good job" he commended "but you guys were holding back."

"A little" Leone agreed "but if we didn't we would've killed you"

"That's alright" his head tilted "I was holding back too"

With that said all members of Night Raid present felt something cold on their necks. Akame looked down to see a floating dagger poised at her jugular.

' _When did he do this?'_ she internally questioned.

She dared not move as her eyes darted to the rest of her teammates they all had daggers at their necks, three in Leone's case.

"How the hell are you doing this!?" Mein demanded not even having a chance to aim Pumpkin.

"I can control and manipulate anything my shadow makes" he informed "release me"

The dagger next to Rabac's throat increased in pressure and the assassin grumbled something Tatsumi heard clearly before complying.

"Looks like I win" he said idly while silently enjoying Mein's displeasured grumbling "Sayo" he spoke and the girl held her arrow for a moment before lowering it.

At this the daggers dropped and disappeared "so *pant* how did we *pant* do" Ieyasu asked, he really pushed the time he could activate Incursio for this.

"You all managed to back me into a corner with your teamwork, good job" he commended then frowned "but you guys were beaten the moment I started using Darkslayer, if I used it from the beginning you would've lost a lot sooner."

"That doesn't count you caught us off guard"

"Doesn't matter we both know that if I used it earlier the fight would've ended sooner. You told me that I'm closest to Esdese in power. I don't know what kind of Teigu she has but as you are now, if you fight her she will kill you."

"Tch, you don't have to say it like that" Leone muttered.

"I just wanted to make it clear" he spoke "I could've beaten you all at anytime" he not so subtlety inclined his head towards Mein.

The sniper tensed, he still remembered that?

"THAT WAS AMAZING MASTER!" A voice squealed.

Night Raid turned to the voice revealing Schere, Fal, Luna and Air. They looked cleaned enough except they didn't wear the same clothes they had instead

"ARE THOSE MY CLOTHES!?" Mein shrieked.

The glasses wearing assassin adopted an apologetic expression "I'm sorry Mein but you were the closest to their size"

"What are you complaining about anyway?" Rabac piped up "you have more clothes than everyone combined and you never wear them anyway" he had ducked a blast from Pumpkin the moment he finished that sentence.

"Sayo, can you help them with shopping for clothes?" Tatsumi asked.

Sayo looked at the girls "okay"

"Thanks" he approached the girls "pick something that covers most of your body" he spoke directly to them.

"Why's that?" Fal questioned.

"It is so that we'll always have a means of protecting ourselves" Luna answered "am I correct Master?"

Tatsumi nodded "After you get back we'll practice what you learned in the forest and I'll tell you about why it's important." He spoke before heading back to Night Raid.

* * *

 _Meanwhile at the Royal Palace_

General Esdese sat before the other female member of her newly formed Jaegers who were momentarily stunned silent. It was actually amusing to see their reactions once she told them what she planned to do with her spare time. On a serious note, they had important business to get down to and them gawking won't help.

"By the way has anyone managed to find any information on the mystery man who saved the Night Raid members Schere and Mein" she questioned.

Immediately Seiryuu's face twisted in a scowl as she shook her head "we don't have any kind of information on the evildoer's identity general. He was too far away so I couldn't give a good description."

Esdese bit her thumb nail, so far the only thing that could be said of this mystery man was that he wore a pure black coat and is incredibly strong by what Seiryuu reported managed to toss Kuro 50 feet away.

"I've already read your report Seiryuu but tell me _exactly_ what happened after he arrived."

Seiryuu nodded "after he came and punched Kuro away he picked up the Night Raid member Schere. An argument of some kind happened between him and the other Night Raid member, I wasn't close enough to hear it" she frowned "after Kuro recovered and engaged they disappeared in a sea of black"

Now that was interesting "a teleportation Teigu" she stated.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get enough information, captain!" Seiryuu apologized.

Esdese waved her off "don't be, from what I read you weren't in a position to do anything."

At this point Run approached the group "if I may interject captain, there was an earlier report dictating a man of a similar description saved a woman from the former wanted serial criminal Zank."

"If I remember he was in position of a Teigu" she mused.

Run nodded "Spectator was its name. Anyway the survivor called the guard squad and they found Zank, he was apparently beaten to death" Run concluded.

"And I supposed the Teigu was missing?"

"Yes, given the nature of the Teigu from previous sightings and the condition of Zank's body when found it appears that whoever this person was ripped Spectator from his forehead while he was still alive." He internally grimaced.

"Did they get a description?"Run reached into his coat pocket to unfold a paper before handing it to Esdese.

She raised an eyebrow "well, he certainly has a unique appearance" she admitted

Run nodded "it is highly likely that he is from outside the capital" he commented.

On the paper was a drawing of a male wearing a plated headband over his eyes with an unfamiliar symbol, he had bangs framing his face and an ahoge sticking out the top of head.

She handed it to Seiryuu "was this the person you saw Seiryuu?"

The brunette looked at it "I'm not sure, Kuro!" she called and the dog Teigu waddled over to its master.

She showed him the drawing and immediately Kuro barred its razor sharp fangs with a vicious growl. This was all she needed "I am sure captain; this was the person who saved the Night Raid members"

Esdese nodded "I want you to make copies of this and distribute it to the rest of the Jageurs. We're not sure who this person is but if he's from outside the capital then we don't want him to leave if he sees any wanted posters." she ordered.

She couldn't help but think just where Najenda managed to find someone like him, her interest was piqued.

"Is there anything else that requires my attention?" She asked.

"Not at the moment, no" Run answered.

* * *

The last three days went like a blur for Fal, Night Raid were probably the nicest people she'd met since coming to the capital except Bach but that bastard was a liar so he doesn't count. So far the temporary cohabitation with Night Raid was going smoothly. In fact the only thing that caused fuss was when her master's close friends, Sayo and Ieyasu found out that they had powers similar to his.

She got why they would be surprised but she didn't get why they made a big deal out of it. Fal later found out that there shouldn't be a Teigu that should be able to make other people gain powers like the user. Fal didn't know what a Teigu was before but after seeing the ones Night Raid have, as dense as she admitted she was sometimes, even she knew that what Tatsumi had was definitely _not_ one of those Teigu things.

The relationship between her friends and the members were different, it was like what Tatsumi told them once. Night Raid was like a family of sorts and Fal actually felt like a part of it. She especially liked Leone. Maybe it was because they had similar personalities, she didn't know or cared. The blonde knew how to kick ass and have fun and that meant someone was cool in Fal's book.

Ieyasu was like the older brother she never had and all of them have a pension for fighting. Though it's clear that Ieyasu has something of a rivalry with Tatsumi but it still didn't stop them from acting like brothers. It was weird seeing her usually stoic and blunt Master joke around and laugh along with him.

Luna made friends with Schere over their love of literature, well Schere loves literature but Luna likes to be knowledgeable. Fal would've figured that Luna would be friends with Akame since they both love to wear that blank face most of the time. Guess that goes to show that just because some people share certain traits doesn't mean they will get along.

The biggest surprise was how Air befriended that pervert Rabac. Of course the reason was because he was a master of long distance combat. In fact Air added strings to her growing list of weapons to manipulate. Luckily, although Rabac is a pervert he has enough tact to _not_ make a pass at a younger girl.

Though it could be the not so subtle promise of ripping off his d**k off by Mein, Leone, Sayo and herself if he so much as even _thinks_ about it. Who knows but at least Air seems happy with his teachings. With her Master, Akame and Ieyasu take up the majority of his time during the day. At night though, he takes to teach them new aspects of their powers and when they are proven capable he sends them out to 'purge the capital.'

This was one such night where the three of them were at the usual meeting place away from Night Raid and awaiting their Master. The three girls were no longer wearing the raincoats they came to the capital with. Taking a cue from their master they all wore different colored and modified versions of coats similar to Tatsumi's.

It was a unanimous decision backed up by sound logic as it provided room for their powers without being too loose. Tatsumi also told them that they would basically have a 24 hour protection while wearing it.

Though there are differences in what they wore under the coat, for instance Air wore a dress similar to the one she wore before. Fal wore an auburn leotard, knee long shorts and boots similar to what she had before.

"Master sure is taking his time" Fal muttered.

"He told us he had to get something before he came back" Air spoke.

Luna had her hood up and unlike the one she had before didn't have any animal appendage on it. It also covered a larger part of her head making her face shadowed so the only thing that could be seen were her two azure eyes.

She didn't speak instead was thinking, they were going to leave on the same day as when the leader Najenda arrived in less than two days. She has been training her powers for a while now but despite that hadn't make any breakthroughs in terms of creating something….more. Luckily she found a way to fix that problem.

Luna's attention was diverted as was Air and Fal's when a voice spoke up "I'm sorry I took so long"

"Master!" as always Air was the happiest to see him.

"What took you so long" Fal asked impatiently. She may be his servant but the attitude always stayed.

Tatsumi approached them and held up his fist "these"

Three girls clamored up to him curious and excited "is that.." Luna trailed off

"Yes it is" Tatsumi smiled slightly

In his hand Tatsumi held three plated headband similar to his except these were colored. The girls all accepted the headbands.

"Since you three are my servants it's only right that you have those"

Luna eyed the gift and a question she had been wanting to ask came at the forefront of her mind.

"What's the symbol mean?" unfortunately she didn't get the chance to say it as Fal beat her to the punch.

Tatsumi's smile vanished "it's the symbol of my village" he paused "it's actually the only thing I have left" he added solemnly.

"..sorry" she apologized and Luna suddenly didn't feel upset she didn't get to ask anymore.

His gaze shifted "it's alright" he spread his arms "time to go."

With that said each girl felt the now familiar sensation of being drowned in a literal sea of darkness. When the darkness lifted, they were on a roof overlooking a mansion, there were several guards stationed around the surrounding area. The girls couldn't help but be in awe, it was the largest house they'd ever seen besides the royal palace.

Yet Fal couldn't help but frown, it was a great house and all and if it was even a week ago she would be gushing since it was basically her dream house but something seemed, off about it. In fact ever since she got her powers the entire capital seemed different.

It was no longer this wonderful place instead it looked no _felt_ different. Her experience with Bach had something to do with it but she couldn't help but feel it was a deeper feeling. It was intoxicating really, Fal wanted to go closer.

"You can feel it can't you?" Tatsumi suddenly spoke.

"Master?" Air questioned.

"Do you three feel drawn to that place?" he asked.

"Well, now that you mention it.." Air trailed off.

"Yeah" Fal narrowed her eyes.

"Yes" Luna spoke "but why?"

"Darkslayer is a power based off of darkness and I learned that it's not limited to shadows or anything else that's physical"

"Okay" Fal drawled "what does that mean?"

"It means that you're drawn to one of the purest forms of darkness" he paused "inside the hearts of men and women who have sinned."

There was a pregnant pause before Air spoke "how come we don't feel that way around Night Raid?"

Tatsumi 'looked' to Air "just because they kill people doesn't mean they have sinned. I figured that it has to do with intentions. People can do horrible things with noble intentions, then there are others who do horrible things because they can or for other sick, selfish reasons" he concluded.

"Like Bach" Fal growled.

"Yes like the dog" he nodded "I guess you guys are wondering why you're here"

"We're going to kill people?" Fal asked sarcastically.

Tatsumi looked to the girl and though she couldn't see his eyes she could tell he was glaring at her. In fact even Air and Luna was glaring

"Fal, don't ever, take killing _lightly_ " he warned.

"I-I'm sorry" she muttered.

"I get that after what happened to you with Bach you're eager to take out more people like him but don't lose sight of yourself" he warned "trust me there's a fine line you don't want to cross when using your powers or it could swallow you whole."

Fal nodded and gulped at his dire tone "r-right."

"As for the reason why you're here" he pointed at the house "this mansion is owned by a wealthy politician" Tatsumi frowned darkly "who kidnaps random people from the streets" he paused already feeling the torrent of emotions from his three servants.

They were already gearing for a fight.

"What does he do to them" he heard Air asked in a calm manner which was enough to for even Tatsumi to take pause.

"He releases them while he and his friends hunt them for sport" Tatsumi finished.

"I see" the pinkette said after a bout of silence her eyes turning a deep shade of black as she floated using the darkness of her coat as a means to levitate.

"….your orders master?"

"I'll free the civilians you deal with the owner and his friends" he ordered.

"What about the guards?"

The surprising question came from Luna, even when angered she could see reason. Tatsumi could see where she was getting at.

Tatsumi shrugged "I don't know, that'll be up to you three. Trust your feelings" with that he disappeared in a swirl of black.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Fal asked tattoo covering the side of her face.

"..it means" Air spoke looking down at the mansion before turning to her friends who did a double take at her expression "we'll know who to kill when the time comes."

….

Aldridge Cowley was a simple man at heart who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life. He had been alive for a relatively long time. 69 years in fact and throughout that time he had spent most of his time in the political circle. Before that he was a soldier who fought for the capital, a decorated war hero and accomplished marksman.

Before even that he was first and foremost a hunter. As a boy he would hunt wild animals and danger beasts. As a soldier he hunted something that was perhaps far more cunning, man. His days hunting the enemies of the capital were one of the few he truly held dear in his heart.

Then it stopped, the Capital established itself as a force to be reckoned with and a time of peace came. With that Aldridge's skill became rusted with age, hunting danger beasts would not compare to his time in the army. Although more dangerous hunting beasts never gave him that satisfaction hunting men have.

With his decorations in the army he was able to attain a seat on the council that presided over the happenings of the capital. That didn't matter as with the aid of his position's power, the vast amount of wealth of which he secured a large acre of land to be able to do what he did best.

That is, hunting and with the Prime Minister's blessings, able to hunt his favorite prey. A grin formed on his wrinkled face as he loaded his rifle and strapped a hunting knife onto his leg. Aldridge made sure to keep himself fit so that he could keep up with his prey, unlike some people who would rather keep their prey stationary while torturing them to death.

He spat at the ground, _his_ death was a long time coming "good riddance" he muttered.

That was something he could never get, torture. Aside from getting information out of a target what good was it to prolong someone's suffering for amusement, it seemed so, pitiable. No his prey deserves a chance to run, to have a fighting chance and then when they are dead at your feet, feel a sense of accomplishment at silencing them.

Aldridge walked by his personal butler "are the prey ready?" he asked not sparing a glance or stopping.

"Yes sir" the man replied professionally.

"And the guests?"

"Awaiting your arrival sir"

"Excellent"

During his time in politics he had managed to befriend several individuals who share some interests.

"Gentlemen" Aldridge greeted as he opened the door leading outside. There were about 7 of them waiting, all equipped with hunting rifles, knives and pistols. Few of them had a sword

"About damn time" one of them grumbled.

"Calm down Peter" another of them spoke.

Aldridge came upon one of his personal guards "where is today's entertainment Crowley?" Peter asked impatiently.

Aldridge seemed unfazed "tell the men to bring out the cages" he ordered.

"Right away sir" the butler bowed and headed to the side of the mansion out of view.

Not even two minutes of walking before he came upon a large shed. He opened the door expecting to find the men loading the peasants into cages or even some of them to be raping one of the women. Instead when he opened the door the first and last thing he ever saw was something black headed towards him.

*Thunk* *Thud*

The dagger embedded itself between the butler's eyes killing him before he even reached the ground. Tatsumi didn't even pause what he was doing and the people in the cages couldn't believe their eyes. One moment they were being ushered into the cages then this person wearing a hood appeared, killed all the guards and began setting the people free. When the doors opened his hand lashed out and another one dropped dead with a dagger between his eyes.

Once Tatsumi freed everyone he stood before them "I know that you are all confused but if you could wait for a few minutes you'll all be able to go home" he said calmly.

There was a collective murmur among the crowd when one spoke up "w-where are we?" a woman spoke

"What's going on!?" a man shouted.

Tatsumi went to the door absorbing the shadow of the butler discreetly before closing the door.

"You're at the residence of the councilman Crowley. You were kidnapped so he could hunt you down and kill you" he said bluntly.

The murmurs increased when one man shouted "WHAT!?"

"Why?"

"Because he can and since you're all from the slums you won't be missed."

"That bastard!" the crowd seemed more enraged now.

One of more irate men came forward only to be stopped "out of my way kid I'm going to get that son of a bitch!"

"How are you going to do that?" Tatsumi began and continued before the man can reply "he's armed with guns plus he has a personal squad of guards who will kill you before you could reach him."

The mans seemed hesitant "b-but.."

"We need to get out of here!" An hysterical man shouted.

"Calm down" Tatsumi didn't shout but his voice cut through the noise sending shivers down everyone's spine and effectively silenced the crowd.

"You can't leave there is no escape without being seen and too many of you to sneak out without someone being suspicious"

There was silence as the news sunk in "..so what do we do" the man before Tatsumi spoke.

"We wait, I have some friends taking care of the guards" he went over to a barrel and sat down "you might as well get comfortable, this might take a while"

Outside, Crowley and his cohorts were getting impatient "what's taking so bloody long!?" Peter shouted.

Aldridge narrowed his eyes "something's wrong" he mumbled

Suddenly there was a loud crash followed by a scream alerting everyone.

"What the bloody hell's going on in there!?"

Suddenly one of the guards stumbled outside through the doors before his body stiffened. There was a sickening squelching noise before he fell dead revealing to everyone's horror a black serpent like creature with piercing red eyes holding what appears to be the dead guard's bloody heart.

Everyone present felt fear and disgust which amplified when the creature started eating the heart. Bile rose in the stomach of all those present, one of which actually vomited on the ground. Before anything else was done the serpent retreated through the doors and shortly afterwards Luna slowly walked out.

The guards all raised there rifles when they all heard a voice shout from behind

"YOU BASTARDS HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT THAN HER!"

They all turned just in time to see Fal, claws out lunge at Peter who was on a horse. Her claws dug deep in him as black shadows enveloped and absorbed his being. By the time she landed the man was nowhere to be found but she didn't stop and ran towards the guard who had opened fire.

The bullets didn't seem to faze her as she swiped the legs of the closest guard before bringing down her claws on his mid section to crudely bisect him. Her tendrils instinctively latched onto and started assimilating the corpse. She raised her hand up for her claws to form a shadow sword, blocking a bullet aimed at her head. She glared at the other guard before crossing the path and slashed him diagonally.

A noble brazenly shot her in the head causing her to collapse *squelch* his victory was short lived as he dropped the pistol. He slowly looked down to see a pitch black sword impaled through his chest. He was then lifted to face Air who floated above him, her hood made it so he couldn't make out her face. Suddenly the noble gasped as the color literally drained from his face turning ghostly white, his eyes started to shrink into its socket.

That's what it looked like on the surface but Luna glanced at their shadows and saw differently. The sword's shadow had a thin line connected to Air while the noble's shadow started becoming smaller. Soon the sword was ripped from the body which spilled into ashes the moment it hit the ground.

Some of the nobles who weren't locked up in fear attempted to flee but Luna sent out a shadow beast out while Fal continued her assault Air went after Aldridge. The councilman used his rifle to shoot her but a shadow shield blocked it before turning into an arrow that shot after him. To his credit the old man dodged the projectile much to Air's surprise.

"He's getting away!" she shouted pursuing him.

"I'm on it" Luna spoke calmly.

Soon Aldridge found the shadow beast running along his horse, he used the pistol to shoot it but only managed to make it angrier. The beat lunged taking him and the horse down then proceeded to eat him alive. His screams of pain were ignored by Luna who took to looting the corpse of the soldier she ripped the heart out of.

"You did that to everyone we killed inside" Fal commented "why?"

Luna took out a sack filled with coins "I want to buy something before we leave the kingdom" she replied.

Fal raised an eyebrow under her hood "what?"

"A book" they both looked as the shadow beast came back with a coin purse hanging from its mouth "plus we might need the money for travelling expenses since master doesn't believe in carrying money" she added.

Fal blinked "oh crap I forgot about that" she hurriedly went over to the clothes of one of the soldiers she killed to loot.

Luckily when they consume humans it doesn't extend to clothes. Air came down and started helping them, when they were finished she looked to Crow.

"We're finished Master" she spoke.

Tatsumi came off the barrel and opened the door "it's done you can all leave" he turned around "all the guards are dead and the help unconscious so if I were you I would start with taking something from the mansion before going home" with that he disappeared in a burst of darkness.

The people were hesitant until someone ran to the door "what're we waiting for!? Let's go before the imperial soldiers show up!" he didn't wait as he made a bee line for the mansion. The rest of them followed suite.

For the next ten minutes the people looted the entire mansion of any valuables they could've taken with them before leaving. Amazingly the entire street was devoid of any patrolling guards giving them a safe passage to return to their homes and families.

Air, Fal and Luna found themselves back on the rooftop they first arrived on overlooking the people escaping. Tatsumi soon appeared having cleared the path of soldiers to the slums; he had Crow monitoring them as well in case they ran into trouble.

"You three did good" he spoke with the faintest.

Air beamed, Fal grinned and Luna smiled "THANK YOU MASTER!" they said in unison.

* * *

Esdese frowned as she; Seiryuu and Koro were at the scene of a supposed Night raid assassination. She however doubted this despite what anyone else thinks. For one none of this matches the M.O of any of Night Raid's previous kills.

For one the bodies were mostly absent, except for a bit of blood. Next there were some clothes which presumably belonged to the victims scattered around the scene. One body in particular looked like it was mauled to death by a danger beast.

Peculiar.

There were reports of similar murders around the capitals recently and the reason why the Jaegers were alerted was due to who was the victim this time. Councilman Crowley, a friend of the Prime Minister and war hero. They were also alerted since while he could very well be a target for Night Raid, it was clear it wasn't them.

It could be just a coincidence but she had a feeling just as to who was behind them but to prove it she would need confirmation.

Esdese was already approaching one of the guards "there was mention of a witness?"

The man seemed to jump a little "y-yes general" he pointed to the maid.

Upon seeing the general approaching the maid visibly gulped then bowed "h-hello general"

"Calm yourself" she said soothingly "I just want you to answer a question" she pulled out a piece of paper "one of the people who attacked did one of them look like this" she held up a drawing of Tatsumi.

"No they" she trailed off staring intently at the picture "that symbol" she started eyes gaining recognition "one of them had a symbol like that around their neck."

"Did you see their faces?" she shook her head and Esdese sighed "I see." She left without another word.

"What did she say?"

"It appears that it was the work of the mystery man you met before Seiryuu" she supplied while pulling the tip of her hat down.

Seiryuu scowled at the mention of _that_ person "does that mean he's responsible for the other strange murders?"

The general nodded "yes and it looks like he has friends. They apparently wear the same symbol" she added.

Both Jaegers went outside only Esdese took a separate direction "you go on ahead, I want to patrol alone for a bit" she spoke and Seiryuu didn't question her superior.

Esdese said patrol but really she just wanted some time to think. The Night Raid investigation has hit a dead end, they've recently gone quiet. Then these string of recent odd murders occur where some clothing were all that was left. Now it turns out that it was that same person with the unknown Teigu was responsible.

With crime at a low due to her presence and the presence of the Jaegers she didn't have anything to do. Even the torture chambers did little to alleviate her boredom

' _Not to mention'_ she glanced at the people she passed, they immediately made way for her and either bow out of respect (or fear, she didn't try to discern them) but most made themselves scarce.

' _I still haven't made any headway into finding someone to love'_ she thought sadly.

A sigh, equal parts frustration and sadness escaped her lips. She glanced around the people _'they're so weak'_ her eyes narrowed _'could I really find someone who meets my standards?'_ she was skeptical of this.

Esdese had been using these patrols to try and find someone who would catch her eyes but all of them were too weak. The Emperor tried to help and she would give him credit since he was actually able to find several persons in the Imperial ranks who meet her criteria except for the last one

' _They were never able to give a pure innocent smile'_ her thoughts trailed as something caught her eyes which widened upon closer inspection _'like that….'_

Across the street beyond the crowd of people she saw _him_ , he looked almost exactly like the drawing, even the odd metal plate over his eyes. The only difference was where there was a neutral frown was a bright smile stretched across his face. Esdese noted that he seemed younger than she was lead to believe, he was more than likely younger than her.

He wasn't alone though there were two others, an older looking boy with a white cloth tied around his forehead and a girl with a flower inside her long raven hair. They seemed to be talking while they and the boy laughed.

Esdese gave them a once over before her eyes were glued to the brown hair boy who was still smiling.

' _It can't be'_

I. _"-they disappeared in a sea in a sea of black"_

II. _"-a man of a similar description saved a woman from the former wanted serial killer Zank"_

III. _"-it is highly likely that he is from outside the capital"_

IV. _\- he seemed younger than she was lead to believe_

V. _The only difference was where there was a neutral frown was a bright smile stretched across his face._

Esdese watched as he went further away, she could feel an unexplained heat rising to her cheeks. Her heart started racing the more she locked gazes onto him to point where she held a hand to her ample bosom.

' _Could it be him?'_

She watched as he turned the corner.

' _I've found him'_ a warm smile crept onto her face.

 _To Be continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And this is the part where I dropped the pencil *clack***

 **I based the creature Luna made on the Serpeants Head from The Darkness videogames, her new appearances basically matches Raven from Teen Titans except she's wearing a hooded coat not cloak (there's a difference I checked). I'm trying for the Akatsuki theme here.**

 **I'll be honest with you, I've never had a writer's block before, the reason why I don't update on time is usually because of life, my general laziness or my lack of interest in writing it at the moment (usually caused by my other stories.)**

 **With this chapter though I did get Writer's block or more like artistic block. See I want this story to be sensible while not straying too far from the premise but bold enough to go another route to arrive at the destination.**

 **See I originally had a plan for this to be Ieyasu competing with Tatsumi in the tournament. Not only because they would win the money but because of a sort of rivalry. The result would be an epic battle which impresses Esdese and makes her fall in love with him. I read the manga and discovered a tiny flaw in that plan. Actually it's something that some** **writers overlook when they have the tournament scene in their stories with Bulat or no one dead at that point for whatever reason and that is**

 **Schere being alive!**

 **See in the hype of getting Esdese to meet Tatsumi they overlook the whole reason why they even had the tournament in the first place. Seiryuu killed Schere and the Jaegers have her Teigu in their possession. They wanted to find a potential candidate to wield it and when they do that person would join the Jaegers.**

 **So I had to practically rewrite the whole chapter and rethink all the ideas I had so far. Sure I could've just said screw it and went ahead with the tournament but it just wouldn't make any sense to me. Just to be clear I'm not belittling anyone or calling anyone out it is just something I've noticed.**

 **Anyway you guys finally get Tatsumi fighting most of Night Raid and know what he meant with the comment. Air, Fal and Luna are getting better and get some scenes by themselves. I kinda skimmed through their time training since it would take too long and besides I find showing it in a situation then explaining it works just as good.**

 **Now with Esdese, since she didn't meet Tatsumi at the tournament she would have to try and find love on her own. She seeing Tatsumi smile made her think of the criteria she listed (yes the numbers were ripped straight from manga and represent what she knew of the mystery man-er boy). Once everything was ticked off she recognized that he may be 'the one.'**

 **Just to be clear no she isn't** _ **in love**_ **and the flushed face and heart beating fast was just the reaction to the** _ **idea**_ **that he could be 'the one.' I figure I might as well explain it now since one or two of you may ask that.**

 **Next chapter we'll see just how Tatsumi and co. ended up where they were in the first place and yes I realized that Tatsumi technically hasn't** _ **met**_ **Esdese personally or vice versa. Yes I know what I said last chapter** _ **and**_ **in the private messages. I'm actually surprised how I managed to make them not meet each other already but I digress.**

 **There is literally nothing I mean nothing that could possibly stop them from meeting each other, face to face, next chapter.**

 **So please favorite, follow and rage about how I'm a sadistic tease for trolling you about Tatsumi not meeting Esdese or, you know, compliment my superb writing and clever story telling for building up the suspense for when they do meet.**


	7. Kill The Jaegers Part 1

**Chapter 7: Kill The Jaegers Part 1**

 _Earlier today_

Sayo sighed _'today's the day'_

As of this day it has been a month since she's arrived in the capital which means that it was the day Tatsumi would be leaving. For the past hour Sayo has been agonizing over a way to convince him to stay if not permanently then at least longer. So far she hasn't come up with a sound argument when the only reason why he's stay so far was because of her and Ieyasu out of loyalty to their friendship.

' _What am I doing'_ she mentally berated herself _'today is the last day I would see my best friend I shouldn't be standing around moping all day!'_

It was with this thought that she deactivated Spectator, went inside to hang up her bow and arrow while taking some throwing knives and barged through the front door.

"TATSUMI!"

"What is it Sayo?" said boy was in the middle of practice with Akame, Ieyasu, Schere and Mein.

"Stop practicing, we're going out!"

This made everyone pause, including Luna, Leone and Fal who were practicing and Rabac who was showing Air some techniques with Cross Tails.

"…excuse me?" Tatsumi said hesitantly.

"Finally gotten the courage to ask him out?" Leone teased.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" Rabac's voice could be heard in the background but was ignored.

A now red faced Sayo sputtered before finally getting her voice "wh-what no! I'm talking about you, me and Ieyasu hanging out around the capital" her voice returned to normal "since you know, this is your last day."

"Oh…" it might have been a trick of the light but she could've sworn that his shoulders slouched a bit.

Ieyasu visibly slouched, he had actually forgotten about it. He knew that these days with his friend and rival wouldn't last but damn, he was sure he had another couple of days. Incursio receded from his person but Tatsumi was still hesitant, he still had to fulfill the duties of his contract after all.

He looked to Schere and Akame "do you mind?" Ieyasu spoke.

Akame looked to Sayo and Ieyasu before she spoke "it's alright you can go ahead."

Tatsumi nodded as his swords receded into his sleeves he turned to his servants "I'll be back in a while girls, keep practicing"

Luna took the opportunity to approach him though "Master can I come, I need to buy something before we leave"

"Is it the book you were talking about yesterday?"

Luna didn't know when he knew but didn't question it "yes" as far as she knows he knew everything any of them ever talk about.

"Fine, we're leaving" with that Sayo and Ieyasu got close and before long they were gone.

* * *

The quartet landed in the middle of a dark alleyway which just so happens to have a homeless man in it. Everyone was silent as Sayo, Ieyasu and Luna wondered what to do about the man who was stunned silent upon their entrance. It was Tatsumi who approached the man then raised his sleeve for a few gold coins to drop in the man's lap.

"You didn't see anything" was all he said

They looked at the coins, then him "see what?"

Tatsumi nodded, turned to the others and jerked his head to the open street before exiting the alley.

Sayo and Ieyasu glanced at each other while Luna followed his silent order, catching up to him "I'll be going now Master" with that she made her way to her destination.

Tatsumi turned to his friends and Ieyasu managed to beat him to the punch "so what do we do now?" the question was directed at Sayo.

Unfortunately she didn't have the foresight to plan ahead; this was a last minute decision. Baring that in mind she thought of the first thing that came to mind.

"How about we just explore the capital, I don't we've ever even been around that much since we got here."

Well it was obvious to both boys that she didn't really plan anything but she did make a valid point. Aside from the occasional missions they didn't really take the time to just explore much. As it stands Tatsumi knows his way around the capital than they do and he's _blind_.

"I know the mostly uncorrupted part of the capital" he spoke.

" _Mostly_ uncorrupted?" Ieyasu questioned.

"I have standards" was his dismissive answer.

The trio walked along the bustling street at first glance it would seem that the place was lively with activity, just another day in a commercial district but they could all feel and in Sayo and Ieyasu's case _see_ that underlying depression. It was a month ago that they walked the streets just the three of them and it seemed the capital looked even worse.

No that wasn't the case, it didn't get worse their eyes were just opened to the reality of the situation present. It was almost surreal how different it was, how different _they_ were especially Tatsumi. Ieyasu glanced at him, his friend, his teacher, his rival.

So much about him has changed…

* * *

 _Ten Months ago_

 _They walked in uncomfortable silence; Ieyasu had the carcass of one of the many slain beasts over his shoulder. Sayo had long stopped trying to make small talk with their guest while the boy in question was one of few words._

 _Ieyasu chanced a glance back at him and the same question popped in his mind for perhaps the hundredth time 'is he really blind?'_

 _What he saw back there, the way how he killed all of the Danger beast was just unnatural, he didn't even think a human could move like that. The actual killing was even more shocking, he didn't even have a sword but mere daggers. There was no denying it, he was clearly more skilled than them and the worst part?_

 _He was younger than him!_

 _Ieyasu had always prided himself in being the strongest in his village. It wasn't vanity or arrogance but a fact, their village didn't produce many warriors and including himself and Sayo there were only three in the entirety of the village. It just goes to show that he had a long way to go if a younger outsider could wipe the floor with him._

 _From Sayo's attempt at small talk they only know his name, the fact that he is a nomad and that his skills were self thought. This had Ieyasu thinking exactly what type of training did he do to get that strong?_

 _They soon came upon the familiar path of their village gates and more importantly the scraggly hair of their master._

" _Ah the young hunters have returned" he spotted the new face "oh and they've brought some food"_

 _Ieyasu grinned "there's more where that came from old man!"_

 _The man raised an eyebrow "he's telling the truth" Sayo reaffirmed "we killed an entire herd, easily over twenty"_

" _And most of them are bigger this one" Ieyasu added._

 _The man's eyes widened until he laughed heartily before turning to one of the men at the gate "get the wagons and tell the butcher to sharpen his knives and hurry we don't want anything getting to those corpses before we do!" he yelled and the man went about doing that._

 _The man ignored the yelling and turned to his two pupils "you two did good" then his eyes landed on the oddly dressed boy "and who might this be?" he asked._

" _He helped us kill the danger beasts" Ieyasu informed but he still looked suspicious._

" _He saved our lives" Sayo admitted._

 _This caused him to look at her in mild surprise before leveling his gaze at the boy. The man approached him, he stood seven foot to the boy's five yet the smaller boy didn't even flinch. His posture looked lax, a slight frown on his face._

 _The man finally smiled and extended his arm "thank you for saving my pupils young man" he said with sincerity._

" _..it wasn't a problem" the boy replied and tentatively took his hand._

 _The older man's hand looked to seemingly crush the smaller boy's but it was the older man's face which was surprised._

" _They call me Sinclair, what is your name young man?"_

" _..Tatsumi" was his reply_

* * *

"We're here" Tatsumi spoke gesturing to a small ice cream shop.

"Ice cream?" Sayo blinked

Tatsumi shrugged "I've never had it before" since he was busy with… _everything_.

"Oh" was all Sayo and Ieyasu said before the trio went inside

* * *

Luna walked the streets of the capital with a single destination in mind. Despite her odd appearance most didn't spare her a second glance and passed her off as a foreigner. This was especially so because she wore the symbol of her master across her forehead for all to see. She would've been worried but since Tatsumi does the same it shouldn't be a problem for her as well.

Eventually she stopped before a quaint bookstore and entered, the bell rang signaling her entrance. The man behind the desk looked at her suspiciously. Luna gave him the same emotionless gaze as she approached him.

"Can I help you Miss?" he asked almost warily and if Luna wasn't being trained she would've missed how his hand shifted under the table.

If it were Fal she would've scoffed in amusement but she wasn't and simply answered his question "yes, do you have any books relating to mythology?"

The man blinked at her calm tone but pointed behind her "down there third row. It's labeled"

"Thank you" she gave a slight nod and headed into the direction.

Luna looked through the shelves and found something, she took out the book 'Tales from the crypt' the title read. She skipped through the pages and frowned

' _Not enough pictures'_ she thought and continued.

Eventually her eyes caught something, it was a modest size but it was the title which caught her eyes. It read 'Encyclopedia Of Dangerbeasts' she raised an eyebrow before looking around. It was a strange name for a book based on myth. She decided to flip to a random page and read

 _The Manticore was a great beast easily the size of a small house with the face of a scowling man with razor sharp shark-like teeth, the body of a lion with a scorpion's tail and great bat wings. While not giving the creature the ability to fly the wings enable it to hop short distances and its tail can fire deadly poisonous spikes._

If one were to observe they would've been able to see a twinkle in Luna's apathetic eyes as she read. It was like this for every page of the book, a different Dangerbeast a short description along with an artist's portrait of the creature. Whether the creatures actually existed at one point or at all didn't matter to her for she had found a source of inspiration.

Would it odd to say that Luna was excited by the prospect of playing God and creating life?

The book itself wasn't big but the pages made it thick and Luna wondered how long it took for the author to compile it. She paid the man, who still tossed her suspicious glances, the money and left feeling satisfied and giddy with anticipation.

* * *

Seryu couldn't help but smile as she did her patrol with Koro in her arms, seeing the faces of all the people she'd sworn to protect going about their daily lives was a comfort to her. Anyone who would dare to disrupt this peace would face _justice_. Night Raid the mystery man, the revolutionary army, they're all the same.

 _Evil_

Her monologue was interrupted when Koro started barking for some reason "what is it Koro?"

The dog type Teigu scowled in a particular direction and Seryu followed his gaze to see, not a criminal or shady person but a girl. The girl was younger than Seryu, with blue hair and wore a cloak, the Jaeger's eyes trailed up to her forehead. That's when her features twisted into a scowl.

"YOU THERE" she screamed at the top of her lungs pointing the girl "STOP IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!'

The girl looked at her then the snarling Koro before her eyes widened and she took off in a sprint. Seryu wasted no time pursuing her

"Koro!" the dog stood at attention " **KILL**!" the Teigu snarled with thick razor teeth and drool.

Meanwhile Luna cursed internally, she was so caught up with the prospect of creating more shadow beasts she didn't pay proper attention to her surroundings. She along with Fal and Air were briefed on the only known member of the Jaegers and the dog Teigu. Obviously she saw the symbol and made the connection to her master

' _Idiot'_ she chastised _'master will surely be disappointed'_

Any further thoughts were halted when a shadow enveloped her, the bluenette glanced over her shoulder to come face to face with the abnormally large open mouth of Koro. Luna saw row after row of razor sharp teeth plummeting in her location. She wasn't going to make it, she saw her impending death at its hands.

Worst of all she tripped

She fell directly onto her shadow but before her body hit the ground, something leapt out the shadow, catching Luna on its back and accelerated out of Koro's range before the Teigu could kill her. The shadow beast kept running forward without pause, expertly dodging any obstacles until it jumped to the rooftop.

Seryu ran up to her Teigu, her advancements allowing her a boost in speed compared to a regular human

"Koro, number seven!" the Teigu complied and bit onto her arm and slid off revealing a massive hand cannon.

Seryu hopped on the enlarged Koro and jumped to the roof where she aimed the canon and with a loud bang it fired.

Luna didn't know how it happened but the next thing she knows her shadow beast exploded and the momentum tossed her aside. She rolled on her stomach and shakily got on her hands and knees. Another bang resounded and Luna had enough sense to reflexively use her shadow to push her off the side.

Her quick thinking managed to get her out just as an explosion occurred at her previous position. The force of the blast tossed her off the rooftop where she landed on a merchant's stall. Despite the nasty fall Luna slowly sat up and _glared_ at the crazed girl, her book disappeared in her coat and she pulled her hood up.

"YOU FUCKING COUNTRY BITCH!" the merchant screamed.

Luna turned towards him and the merchant froze mid rant, his blood ran cold and his face became devoid of color as he stared into faintly glowing purple-black eyes. Her landing had the attention of several imperial guards who were quick to levy their guns at her.

She eyed them with the same dark glare and she could see the fear in their eyes but most of all she could _feel_ the evil rolling off them. Just like her Master told her

' _They will do'_ she raised her hands and her shadow expanded on the ground even as they (nervously) shouted at her.

When they finally noticed the long shadow under their feet it was too late. Like a shark out of water the shadow beast lunged out of the shadow and tore the head off the first imperial guard, several shadow snakes bit into the other one.

The people screamed and ran as the guards were killed before them.

"YOU FIEND!" yelled the enraged voice of Seryu.

Luna jumped away from the spot the same time the Jaeger crashed landed. Luna rolled in a crouch and extended her hand. Recognizing the gesture Koro immediately went to block the snake only it didn't expect a shadow beast roughly its size to lunge at it. It pushed the Teigu into a store behind it.

"KORO!" Seryu yelled in worry before aiming the canon at the beast currently tearing into her Teigu.

She drew back the lever and the cannon began its charge *Thunk* Seryu jerked and looked to the side. There, right where the ammunition is kept in the cube cartridge was a snake-like beast with its razor sharp teeth embedded in it. It retracted ripping off a part of it just as it was about to fire.

Time seemed to slow down, her eyes widened and she barely let out a curse before *BOOM* the arm canon exploded tossing the girl through a building. Luna took advantage of this and ran after her

' _She won't die from something like that'_ she thought.

Her gait was halted as she saw the dog Teigu rip her shadow beast apart and charge her from her peripherals.

"Tch" she gritted her teeth as her shadow quickly reformed under feet and pushed her out of the way.

She landed sitting atop a tiger-like danger beast _'that's the second one lost today'_

Luna's shadow can't 'die' but when one of her creations are 'killed' it takes some of her power with it. Luna herself will lose some of her energy which is in direct proportion to the strength of the shadow beast that is 'killed.'

In layman's term the more power she puts into a shadow beast the more strength she will lose if it dies. It's a double edged sword of sorts and the more power she loses the first time around the less she'll have to give to the next beast she makes. The only way to increase her strength is to absorb 'evil'

And that, Seryu was oozing evil in waves so much that Luna found it intoxicating yet there's nothing she can do about it. She isn't strong enough to create shadow beasts to distract the Teigu long enough _and_ have enough power left over to deal with the girl who is a more experienced fighter than her.

' _At least not yet'_ she thought darkly staring at the girl struggling to get up.

Luna's beast beat a hasty retreat begrudgingly miffed at having to sacrifice her power and time without anything to show for it.

Seryu stood on shaky legs, covered in blood _'I underestimated her'_ she grit her teeth and ripped off her arm cannon. The half destroyed burnt scrap of metal hit the ground.

Seryu watched in pure rage as the girl left, the explosion did a number on her body and the only reason why she's even standing was because of the doctor's enhancements. Her teeth barred and Seryu reared her head back and gave a guttural scream to the heavens. Koro returned to normal and looked to its master in worry with its head down.

They had lost this battle.

The duo never noticed the Crow perched atop the nearby building, it gave a "Kaw" before flying off.

* * *

A smile formed on Tatsumi's face and it didn't go unnoticed by either friends "what are you smiling about?"

"Luna had a fight with that girl from the Jaegers with the dog Teigu" he answered taking a bite from his cotton candy.

"What!?" they both exclaimed and Sayo went on "is she…"

Tatsumi waved her off "she's fine, though that girl is still alive Luna won the battle" he assured.

"Still it's probably not safe to be out here anyway, especially if they know that symbol" Ieyasu suggested.

"Do we have to?" Tatsumi questioned. He was generally having fun with his friends despite the annoyance.

Sayo sighed "I'm afraid he's right, the last thing we need is for someone to recognize you and link you to Night Raid" she said the last part in a whisper.

Tatsumi bit off the last part of the cotton candy and tossed the stick with a begrudging " **fine** "

Sayo smiled sadly "I'm sorry"

"It's alright although" his head turned just a bit "it's a little too late to be cautious about someone recognizing me"

"Why's that?" Ieyasu asked already not liking where this was going.

"We're being followed" his brow furrowed and his frown deepened "and whoever this person is they are not an ally."

To their credit Sayo and Ieyasu didn't act out in fact their only reaction was a tensing of their shoulders. They were no longer just two young people having fun, they were assassins of Night Raid. Their eyes hardened as they walked casually all the while trying to scope out whoever was following them.

"How long have they been following us?" Sayo asked seriously

"…almost an hour now" he replied just as seriously.

Both young adults paused to look at their younger friend with blank expressions "and why didn't you tell us this from the beginning?" Sayo asked patiently.

Tatsumi scratched his cheek though his expression didn't falter..much "I was having too much fun" he said honestly "I didn't want to ruin the memory of the last day with my first friends."

Their expressions softened "besides _she_ didn't make any moves to attack and there were no malicious intents. She seems to be just observing us"

"So it's a she" Ieyasu mused with his hands behind his head looking up "is she dangerous?"

"Very" he answered immediately causing them both to look at him "I've never actually felt anything like this from _one_ person before. She's very strong and to be honest" he paused "I'm not even sure I can beat her."

Now this alarmed Sayo and Ieyasu Tatsumi, the boy who trained them, the one who defeated most of Night Raid single handedly _that_ Tatsumi would openly admit he could lose against someone. Then just who is this woman?

Then a thought occurred to them and Ieyasu was the first to voice it "you don't think it could be…?" he trailed off.

Sayo nodded "maybe but what would _she_ be doing out here of all places'

"Probably on patrol or something but how would she know our identities?"

"Who're you talking about?"

They looked to each other "we think it could be…Esdese" Ieyasu swallowed, he's heard enough stories about her to last a lifetime plus Tatsumi's admittance just made the seed of fear grow more.

"…that actually makes sense" Tatsumi nodded

"Why do you say that?"

"She has some kind of ice type Teigu and this woman smells faintly of ice"

"We need to get out of here" Sayo said looking around.

"We need to split up" Tatsumi suggested "she can only follow one of us. Crow will keep an eye on you and if she ends up following you then find a dark corner"

"Got it"

"Okay" Sayo nodded "and if she follows you?"

Tatsumi shrugged "I can just escape"

Tatsumi didn't even bother adding the _duh_ at the end.

* * *

Meanwhile

Esdese peaked around the corner, her eyes narrowed at the trio but more specifically at the smaller brown haired boy she now knew was called Tatsumi. Her narrowed gaze flickered down then back to him then down again

"Hmm~"

She looked at him again then looked down and clicked her tongue with a frown _'another failure'_ she sighed looking at her latest drawing among the myriad of others.

' _I can't seem to ever get that symbol right'_

No the problem was that his face was obscured at all.

Esdese had been tailing them for a while now and under normal circumstances would've just approached him and made him hers. However there was a time and place for everything, for instance he could use his Teigu to teleport out of her grasp, she needed more information before she could act.

Hence the reason why she had a small notepad with everything she found out about him so far. First and foremost for all intents and purposes he was blind despite not needing assistance maneuvering which was appealing as it is frustrating.

He will never be able to truly see her, he will not be able to witness her triumph on the battlefield. Unlike other boys his age she wouldn't be able to use other more _physical_ means to appeal to him.

A challenge indeed but she isn't going to give up on him just yet.

Secondly no matter how much she looked at him the boy is a complete mystery to her. As a General she is very adept at assessing individuals but with him she drew up blank. This is the first time that has ever happened for her. She can't tell if he's weak or strong or _anything_ at all, it was like there was a dark void where he was.

It made her tingle with excitement, she would personally test him, Seryu's account wasn't enough but she at least knew he wasn't weak. Her window of opportunity to approach him was closing she would have to make her move soon.

Her opportunity arose when they split off with the other two even waving as they left him. She calmly followed the boy but filed away his friends' faces, if she failed and he escaped she will use them to lure him to her.

As he kept walking, she noticed how there were fewer people as they went then it occurred to her _'he knows'_ her lips curved into a smile.

Although stealth wasn't her forte she was adept in masking her presence despite hardly using it but it would seem he found out. Eventually he turned down an alleyway down a near empty street, she also turned. The boy was further down the street facing her direction, a frown the only sign of his displeasure.

' _Impressive speed'_ it couldn't have been more than two seconds when he turned to corner yet he's so far away.

For a moment she stared at him, no longer from vantage points, corners or through crowds. She still couldn't get a good read on him, in fact if it wasn't for his frown she wouldn't be able to discern his general emotion.

She approached him with long strides a smile adorned her face, a shame he couldn't see it "hello there" she greeted.

"Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

Esdese actually blinked at this, she wasn't used to someone _not_ recognizing her inside the Kingdom. Ah~ but he's not _from_ the capital and he can't very much see her either.

"My name is Esdese and your name is?"

She left the question open but didn't get so much as a reaction from him, not even a twitch. She continued to get closer almost casually but with a purpose.

"..Tatsumi" she continued "was your name right? It's a good name."

The compliment didn't get a reaction from him, he just stood there in silence for a moment before speaking

" _General_ Esdese, you've been following me since I went in the commercial district"

Esdese paused that was exactly when she started tailing them yes "you knew I was following you from the beginning. Why didn't you do something before?"

"I am curious why the General of the capital's army was following us"

Esdese stopped, her position close enough to attack but far enough not to be in his space she folded her arms and narrowed her eyes "you _knew_ who I was from the beginning?" she frowned "then you should also know I am aware of your affiliation with Night Raid"

"…I'm not a part of Night Raid"

"You were seen rescuing the their members Schere and Mein" she reminded

"Doesn't mean I'm a member" he countered.

She raised an eyebrow "then why risk saving them?"

"That's what they hired me for"

"…you're a freelancer" she slowly approached with caution.

"Don't bother asking me information on Night Raid" his brows furrowed at her increased proximity.

"I never said I wanted information on Night Raid" although she will eventually fish that information from him among others when they get back to the royal palace.

His head tilted slightly causing his bangs to sway, the simple action was so.. _cute_ Esdese found her restraint weakening. She _must have him_.

"Then what do you want?"

She reached into her shirt pocket. She always carried it around just for this occasion, when she would finally find him.

Now mere inches apart she smiled charmingly at him "I want you" she spoke in a low almost _husky_ tone.

"…what?" it wasn't what she said that surprised him it was _how_ she said it.

*Click*

In his moment of mild shock he dropped his guard and now felt something cold around his neck. If one could see Tatsumi's eyes they would've seen him blink multiple times, his mouth parted

"Eh?" was the only thing his mind could think to say while internally he thought _'what just happened?'_

Esdese smiled broadened at his dumbstruck expression and she gave the collar a light tug "Tatsumi from now on you belong to me" she spoke fondly.

Esdese wasn't foolish enough to believe she could do this without any form of resistance, even when it was futile. She tugged the chain connecting the collar forward and he fell for her to deliver a knockout blow before he regained his bearings.

Her smile quickly vanished, her happiness giving way to shock as her eyes saw obsidian steel. She jumped back and away from the sudden incoming blade that easily cut through the chain. Tatsumi's foot was planted forward to stop the fall and his hand still held his short blade. He stood straight and slowly turned to face the blue haired general.

Esdese felt a tingle run down her spine at his 'gaze' of course she expected some form of resistance, some futile attempts at delaying the inevitable but nothing like this. Tatsumi reached for the collar

"I-"

He easily ripped it off

"-belong"

He held it before him then dropped it

"-to know one"

He stepped on it with enough force to shatter the ground beneath it then twisted his foot for good measure.

Esdese had the broadest smile on her face _'he's fast'_ she thought reaching for where he would've hit _'I didn't even sense any killing intent or hear the attack'_ the only thing that saved her was intuition, her battle instincts honed from years of fighting.

"….!" She froze feeling something trickle down her cheek.

Tatsumi turned to leave, the short sword receding into his sleeve.

At the same time Esdese looked at the red liquid now on her finger tip _'blood,_ _ **my**_ _blood'_ how long has it been since someone mad her bleed on the battlefield? She licked the substance and savored the taste while watching his retreating figure.

Meanwhile the only warning Tatsumi had was the split second drop in temperature as the ice formed in his position. He used his shadow to _slide_ to the side just as the ice particles began to form.

"Tch" he gritted his teeth and swerved around with a short sword extended in a block.

*CLASH*

Esdese's rapier slammed into Tatsumi's sword like an A-class danger beast and actually managed to push his feet through the ground, digging up the ground.

"You wounded me" her smile was gleefully malicious.

Tatsumi didn't reply but could feel a bead of sweat run down his face, this woman was strong. He tilted her sword and retaliated with a slash of his own but met her blade instead of flesh.

"No one has been able to do that" she swung and he dodged by a hair's breadth "let alone on the first strike."

He stabbed at her exposed midsection the millisecond the blade passed him *Crack* the sudden slight drop told him he stabbed thick ice instead. Esdese swung back down at his exposed back when he raised his hand.

*Clang*

Rapier met _another_ short sword and she attempted a swift kick but he jumped out of range, her heels literally less than an inch from his face as he leapt. Tatsumi let out a long breath as he landed and stood straight, in a lax position. Esdese too also got into a fighting stance, her excitement was almost tangible.

"Show me more" she blurred forward as did Tatsumi.

Sparks began to fly as silver and obsidian steel clashed in a lethal dance that was barely visible to the naked eye. Tatsumi's expression remained neutral as he was being pushed back while Esdese was thoroughly enjoying herself. Every so often their positions would switch as they turned a dodge into an attack and vice versa.

He suddenly leapt away and she pursued swinging her rapier down which was dodged and just so happened to smash through her earlier ice prison. He leapt again and this time she continued attacking while they were airborne. Tatsumi attempted to block a downward slash but it was feint and the moment their blades touched she pivoted her body and kicked him in the side.

Or it would have if he didn't switch one of his blades to a reverse grip and block the hit. Tatsumi gave an audible grunt as the force sent him crash landing but he easily landed on his feet before skipping back a few distances away.

Esdese also landed "to keep up with me for so long without injury or visible effort, your speed, strength and techniques are excellent" she complimented "but I will have to work on your obedience once I take you to the royal palace."

' _She's still saying that'_ Tatsumi would've scowled but instead he sighed.

"I am not going _anywhere_ with you" he said coldly.

Esdese found it slightly amusing "it wasn't a suggestion."

Any normal person would've gotten frustrated with this _very_ stubborn woman but Tatsumi found it curious. She's incredibly powerful keeping Tatsumi on his toes the entire time but he can tell she isn't serious which says a lot about Night Raid's chances against her never mind the other Jaegers.

The rumors about her being battle obsessed were true, Tatsumi figured she hasn't stopped smiling since they started. Then there's the fight itself which honestly didn't _feel_ like a true fight. For one she has yet to use her Teigu offensively and secondly the level of her attacks kept increasing it's almost like

' _She's testing me'_ he realized and _'but why?'_

"What exactly do you want from me?" he questioned.

Esdese blinked "have I not made it clear Tatsumi? I want you to be mine."

Okay now he was genuinely confused now "what does that mean?"

Her smile turned genuine "I want you by my side, a strong individual, someone who can stand as my equal and" she blushed "as my lover."

"….."

'… _..'_

…..

Tatsumi's mind drew blank as she continued speaking "Tatsumi I have been searching for someone like you for a long time and now that I've had the pleasure of crossing swords with you I can say with absolute certainty that you are worthy of standing by my side" her stance straightened.

"You may resist now because of your misguided loyalties to Night Raid but you'll have a lot of time to come around once we are at the royal palace and I show you what the capital's army has to offer."

"….I'm not interested" he said after mentally collecting himself.

Esdese sighed "I see Night Raid has won you over to their side-"

"I don't think you understand" he cut her off "I could care less about Night Raid, the Revolutionary Army or the Capital. I have no intention of fighting in _your_ war" the swords disappeared up his sleeves "and I don't plan on staying in this place" he turned his back on her "after today I'm going somewhere far away where no one has never even heard of the Capital Night Raid or _you._ So _general_ you can take your offer to someone who cares."

Esdese stared at him, her eyes no longer soft, her smile turned to a frown and her brows furrowed but it wasn't his turning down her offer that got to her. It was the fact that he was leaving her.

 _No he only believed he was._

Esdese was not amused by those words, she had only now just found him and had a glorious warm-up. She wasn't even close to finishing yet, he'd made her like this and wanted to leave before they even got properly acquainted?

' _That won't do.'_

The moment he went to walk away she struck, unfortunately during her earlier analysis of his skills she hadn't found the depth of his power so she forgo all her restraints. She could only hope that he's strong enough to at least survive until she brought him back to Stylish. She sheathed her rapier, she would prefer him in one piece and not even she is sure she could properly hold back enough not to decapitate him on accident.

Tatsumi only had time to raise his hands in defense when she did a powerful spinning kick, the force sent him through a building. She immediately went to pursue but had to raise her hands in defense as well when she caught a glimpse of a black blur. His lack of a presence made her have to rely on pure instincts rather than her honed senses.

Tatsumi delivered a flying kick with all his strength but all it did was make her be pushed back, her heels digging deeply into the ground. Unfortunately the momentary contact was all she needed to freeze his leg. He grunted as the chill ran up his leg and he went to smash the ice but Esdese would have none of that.

"Hn?" the rest of his cry was stopped when he was encased in a block of ice.

Esdese looked at it with a neutral expression, her fist tightened and became encased in ice. A moment later Tatsumi shattered the ice, just as she'd expect and was already before him poised to strike.

"Hah!" with a small yell she delivered a punch to his solar plexus with her ice encased fist.

The thick ice broke and she could feel at least three ribs break against the force of her fist. Tatsumi spat out blood but wasn't finished and neither was she and Esdese finished off by giving an elbow strike to his back. The force managed to create a small crater in the ground and even then he tried to shakily prop up on his hands.

"Gah!" was what erupted from his mouth when she kicked him on his side, _hard_.

Tatsumi crashed into a heap and spat out blood, lying on his back unable to move. Esdese stalked towards him and slowly drew her rapier, he tried to sit up but she stomped his chest with her heels.

Esdese would've looked to anyone else in this position with sadistic glee but now her expression was one of adoration "you've survived, I never doubted you could for a moment."

Although his breathing was labored he remained silent as she pointed her rapier at him "it's your own fault for being in this kind of situation. I gave you a chance to come quietly but you just had to be so stubborn."

"…" he remained silent.

Esdese frowned she couldn't read him even this close then her rapier touched his 'mask' and that's when he tensed "when you are by my side everyone shall see your face and know your name" she cut the headband away to reveal pale skin on closed eyes.

' _At least I've confirmed his blindness'_ a pity, she wanted to see his eyes, blind or not.

Esdese quirked her head when his hand began to shakily raise, her rapier went to his throat "don't try anything Tatsumi" a non-committed threat, she would not hurt him any further.

He ignored her and shakily pointed his index and middle fingers towards her eye before they slowly pointed to her left. Esdese's brow furrowed as her gaze followed its path and what she saw made her eyes widened in surprise as she saw sitting on the edge of the roof of a building was…

' _Tatsumi!?'_ she thought incredulously.

Then her head whipped to the 'Tatsumi' she had under her boot heel and was again shocked. This Tatsumi had his eyes opened only they were hollow, it was like he was corpse doll. His body jerked and suddenly a bulge in its chest worked its way visibly through the throat and his mouth opened to reveal a pitch black, red eyed crow.

"Kaw" was the only thing the animal said before flying away then almost immediately after she felt the space under her boot disappeared as the body quickly dissolved into a murder of crows.

Esdese regained her composure quickly to follow the birds that headed straight for Tatsumi who leisurely stood up. The crows began circling the boy in a sea of black

 _Wait_

" _-then they disappeared in a sea of black"_

"No!" she yelled ice already enclosing on the black tornado.

But when it cleared all that was left was an empty block of ice. Upon seeing this, her fist clenched tightly, her teeth barred and the ground below her began to freeze. Eventually she released a calming breath and pulled her hat down

"If the faiths allowed us to meet once then we shall do so again" with that she sheathed her weapon and walked away.

She _will_ be spending some extra time in the torture chambers tonight.

* * *

Luna went inside the base to see Schere "Oh Luna you're ba-" she stopped mid sentence "what happened?"

Luna looked at her state, she was covered in dirt and dust, there was a rip in her cloak and scuff marks on her face.

"I ran into trouble" was her reply "I'm fine"

Schere frowned "no you're not; I'm going to look at those wounds" she said grabbing the girls hand.

"I don't have any wounds" Luna tried to placate but really she just didn't want to be treated by the purple haired woman.

The last time she did that to Ieyasu who had a training accident, he had to stay an extra day recovering from a flesh wound she accidentally made worse…somehow.

"What do you mean" she stopped.

"My injuries heal very quickly, master explained this remember"

The older woman blinked "oh, I forgot"

"…I know" Luna said with a hint of exasperation.

This is one of the drawbacks of being friends with an airhead, luckily she had practice with Air, though she was nowhere near as bad as Schere.

By chance they caught sight of Akame "what happened?" the last she heard Luna went with Tatsumi to the city

"I ran into one of the Jaegers, Seryu"

"What!" they both exclaimed.

Luna would never admit it but she found it a little unnerving when Schere's eyes sharpen in a serious way. She was used to the harmless airhead who trips over her own feet and manages to mess up even the most menial of tasks.

"Were you followed?" Akame got right to it

"No my shadow beast would've smelled anyone who followed and I made sure to cross the river" she explained.

Of course Tatsumi made sure to tell them about ways to cover their tracks in the event he didn't transport them to the capital.

Akame looked at her seriously for a moment before nodding "you should get cleaned up"

* * *

Sayo and Ieyasu were running towards the Night Raid hideout when crow suddenly flew to their level. They immediately stopped and watch as Tatsumi stepped out of its shadow

"Sorry I'm late" he said and was immediately enveloped in a tight hug by Sayo.

Ieyasu didn't miss the wince he gave when she hugged him "you're hurt?"

"What!?" she looked at him.

"It's nothing" he assured.

Sayo narrowed her eyes and searched him until she reached his hands and he winced again, she looked at his face then slowly raised his hand. It was pitch black, covered in thick shadows

"What happened?" she asked

"I got careless and paid the price"

In truth Tatsumi didn't expect her attack to be that strong and even though he reinforced his arms with shadow armor she still managed to break through them and now his arms are broken. Also that shadow clone was only _slightly_ weaker than him but she managed to beat it in three hits. So at least now he knows that she's stronger than him physically on top of having more experience.

' _But I'm still faster'_ he thought.

If one were to ask Tatsumi what he thought about fighting strong opponents he would simply shrug. Unlike Esdese -or Leone- he doesn't get a thrill from fighting nor does he seek to be stronger. At the same time he _has_ to be stronger yet up until meeting Esdese he hasn't met anyone who is strong enough for him to properly gauge himself.

He can't necessarily go about blindly training, not without knowing some form of weakness. To Tatsumi that fight with Esdese was more educational than entertaining or life threatening. And from what he's learned he needs to work out more. Apparently using Darkslayer constantly has made him neglectful in training his body.

' _I can fix that after leaving'_ he thought.

Having met the fearsome General Esdese, nicknamed 'Esdeath' in person he learned first hand what kind of the woman she is and Tatsumi can say he didn't want to be anywhere near her or the capital. Its one thing to reject an offer then ignore the person who made it but the key difference with Esdese is that she has the strength to impose her will upon others.

And unfortunately he is no exception, at least he really hoped he isn't but to find that out he would have to fight her and the last thing he wanted to do was that. He wasn't _afraid_ of the woman but if he lost the fight….he would rather not find out how a 'sadistic battle freak' expresses her…. _Love_.

The trio arrived at Night Raid and immediately he could tell his servants were aware of his presence. As always Air stopped whatever she was doing to greet him, however he was internally surprised to find Luna and Fal heading in his location. They were actually moving faster, as if it was an emergency.

"MASTER!" they yelled simultaneously.

"I swear I'll never get used to that" Ieyasu mumbled.

 _Tatsumi was still getting used to it._

With their sudden urgency the other members of Night Raid who were close by them came as well.

"What's up" Leone asked with her Teigu activated, obviously she was training with Fal when the girl just up and left.

"Noth-" Tatsumi began but was cut off by Sayo

"Tatsumi fought Esdese"

"WHAT!"

Leone looked at the boy who looked virtually untouched, no labored breathing, she didn't smell any blood and save for a few, very few dirt marks he looked fine. He certainly didn't _look_ like he had a fight with that monster

"You fought Esdese" she said skeptically

All Tatsumi could do was sigh "yes although I wish I didn't meet her at all" he confessed.

"Are you alright?" Air spoke looking him over but he shrugged her off when she reached for his sleeves.

"I'm fine" he said coolly.

"No he's not" Ieyasu shot back "she broke his arms" the moment those words were uttered he suppressed a shiver as Tatsumi 'glared' at him.

"Before anyone can say _anything_ can we do this inside" it wasn't a question as he began walking away.

* * *

' _It's been quiet'_ was the thought of the Jaeger's member Wave.

He's been in the capital for close to a month now and so far the investigation into Night Raid has hit a road block. Night Raid has been laying low; there hasn't been any major assassinations that fit their M.O this week. Though there have been some murders but then again murders happen every day in the capital without fail.

Wave frowned at the thought, it was something he was informed by Run and confirmed when he checked the books himself. That didn't sit well with him _"what the hell are the capital guards doing"_ was what he asked then but Run only gave him a sad smile.

It wasn't lost on the raven haired young man that he was missing something, some vital information that so obvious but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. All he knew was that it had something to do with the capital which looked a little _less_ appealing when he realized the high murder rate.

It was something that needed to be fixed and that's what they, The Jaegers, were created for right?

He opened the door "sorry I'm la-" his apology died on his lips when he noticed that the captain was missing.

The only persons in the room were Run, Bors and Kurome, the two former were discussing something while the latter was eating candy from a bag….again.

"Ah Wave" Run greeted

He nodded back and went to sit with them "Bors, Run" he glanced at the only "hey Kurome" he said in a friendly manner.

The girl simply hugged her bag of sweets tighter "you're not getting any."

Wave sweat dropped at her display "I wasn't.." he trailed off when the door opened revealing Esdese.

The moment she stepped in all activities ceased in favor of staring at her with wide eyes but she ignored this fact in favor of scanning the room _'Seryu and the doctor aren't here, how unusual'_

"Uh, captain?"

"What is it Wave?"

"Y-your cheek…"

She raised an eyebrow "yes what is it?"

"What he's trying to say is that you are injured" Run surmised.

"I'll go get a medical kit"

Esdese blinked then felt her cheek and looked at the dry blood, her wound had already clotted and honestly she didn't even notice although she did feel as if she forgot something. Her mind was so set on Tatsumi that she forgot to dress the wound (if one could call it that) before coming to the meeting. A blunder on her part yet at the same time she was a little thankful she didn't do anything about it.

After all, she had met her future lover and brought something back to show for it.

"Oh this little thing" she smiled "I received it from our mystery Teigu user" she said taking out the hand drawn picture.

Kurome's eyes became sharp at this revelation, she knew General Esdese and for someone to actually wound her… they must be quiet skilled indeed.

"I see" Run pursed his lips as he eyed the photo, he actually managed to wound Esdese, he doesn't know if it's a good thing or bad thing.

Bors came back with a medical kit and Esdese allowed him to dress her wound as she continued to speak "his name is Tatsumi and I've had the pleasure of fighting him..thank you Bors" she said to the giant who had just placed a bandaid on her cheek.

"You are welcome"

"Now" she gained a serious expression as she leaned on the table interlacing her fingers "as for Tatsumi" her eyes closed "he is powerful, not only did he keep up with my movements without slowing down once he managed to score a hit on me _and_ escape right before my eyes" her eyes opened "he did all this without the use of his Teigu until he made his escape" her eyes narrowed in thought "he is by far the strongest individual I've ever faced and he wasn't even fighting at full capacity."

The rest of the Jaegers let the news sink in with troubled expressions until Wave broke the silence "if Night Raid managed to recruit someone even you have difficulty against then.." he trailed off.

"Don't be mistaken" she interrupted "I managed to follow him for a bit and even had a brief conversation with him before the fight, he said he wasn't affiliated with Night Raid. He will also be leaving the capital never to return"

She could feel the slight tension leave the room yet she could feel something like a scowl coming on "that is something that I cannot allow to happen" she said sternly "for today we will redouble our efforts in finding Night Raid, I've already confirmed that he has friends who are members, we will use them to lure him out. We will patrol the capital and beyond in pairs to find them before the day ends"

"That will not be necessary Esdese-sama!" a familiar flamboyant voice called out before the doors dramatically opened.

"Dr. Stylish" she greeted "I was wondering when you would decide to show yourself."

The doctor grinned and bowed eloquently "of course for one such as myself only the most stylish of entrances is acceptable"

As always Esdese ignored his eccentricity to get to the point "I believe you have news for me?"

"Of course, it seems earlier today Seryu encountered one the mystery man's subordinates and engaged them"

"Oh?" she said with a piqued interest.

The doctor sighed dramatically with an equal shrug "unfortunately she got away and Seryu is need of a replacement arm, _however_ " his yes became sharp "Kuro managed to rip a piece of fabric with her scent signature on it" he smiled "using the scent marker we can track the girl to the mystery man"

"..and Night Raid" Esdese finished "and you're sure you will be able to track the scent doctor. I don't have to remind you that failure is not an option, not this time" she said in a dangerous tone.

Stylish grinned even though he could feel his hair stand on edge and a trail of sweat broke out on the back of his neck "of course Esdese-sama, would I ever lie to you?"

Stylish's loyalty is questionable but there is no doubt that as long as it serves his purpose he will serve the empire.

"I take it Seryu is still in operation?" she questioned.

"Ah yes, she is rather angry that the girl managed to defeat her but I am adding new modifications to her armory in preparation for tonight"

Esdese nodded as she addressed everyone in the room "you all heard, tonight we track down and destroy Night Raid once and for all. I want you all for prepare for the battle that is to come, we leave at sunset, you are all dismissed."

* * *

 _Ten Months Ago_

 _It was odd Tatsumi thought as he explored the small yet adequate village. Currently the entire town was in an uproar as the wagons returned with the danger beasts recently killed. Right now he could hear various sounds of knives sharpening. He smelt the various spices being prepped for the incoming meals._

 _This was something new, he'd been in poor villages before which were usually as a result of either heavy taxes or the aftermath of a war. The mood was of which one would expect from such villages, the air was constricting, the people were miserable, starving and the entire mood of the place would be gloomy._

 _This village though, while poor had a kind of blissful feel to it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but the place was just different from what he's unfortunately used to feeling. His musings were jostled at the sound of someone's voice_

" _Tatsumi!"_

 _He stopped and turned to face where he heard the voice coming from. He recognized the voice as the boy he helped earlier, what was his name? Oh yes_

" _Ieyasu" he said placidly._

 _The boy paused for a moment before continuing "what're you doing out here?"_

 _Tatsumi tilted his slightly in confusion, he understood the question but didn't recognize the tone in which she spoke it._

" _Exploring" he replied as if it were obvious "why?"_

 _Ieyasu frowned "do you even know where you're going?" she said suspiciously._

' _It's called exploring for a reason' he thought but sighed._

" _No I don't_ _ **see**_ _things these days" he answered dryly._

 _Ieyasu's eyes widened then he mentally kicked herself "you're blind" she said glumly and he nodded._

" _Do you need hel-"_

" _No" he cut her off mid sentence and turned away._

 _Ieyasu watched as the presumably blind younger boy easily walked through the crowd not so much as even bumping into someone._

" _You don't have to be such a jerk" he called but Tatsumi made no movement to convey that he heard him and continued._

 _Scowling the boy huffed and turned the opposite direction before stalking off._

* * *

"Thank you" Tatsumi said as Air poured him a cup of drinks

"You're welcome master" the pink haired girl beamed.

Ieyasu shook his head. He could hardly believe he was the same boy from all those months ago who didn't ask for help in _anything_ but now would willingly let someone do things for him.

Or maybe it was because Air was a girl….come to think of it he only let sayo get away with helping him, always holding his hand and that one time he actually let her feed him…..

That sneaky bastard.

He would've commented but then an arm snaked around his neck and he felt something soft pressed against his face

"Aw why the long face Ieyasu? You should be happy!" Leone's slurred voice shouted "Tatsumi got one up on that Ice-bitch!" she hugged him tighter.

While the novelty of having Leone's breast that close to his face _never_ wore off Ieyasu was having trouble breathing. In the end self preservation won out and with all his strength pushed himself off the clearly drunk girl with a loud gasp for air.

"You almost killed me!" he shouted with a flushed face but Leone looked unrepentant.

' _Forget Teigus,_ _ **those**_ _things are the ultimate weapons of mass destruction'_ he said staring at Leone's 'weapons.'

He heard Tatsumi laugh at his expense and he swore if this party weren't for him he'd be kicking his ass right then. Suddenly Tatsumi stopped abruptly, his face turned neutral then went to the closest to a scowl he'd ever seen

"Everyone stop" he stood up as the room turned silent.

"Master?" Air and the others looked to the still silent figure.

"What's wrong?" Schere questioned

"They're here"

"What are you on about!?" Mein indignantly yelled.

His gaze turned to Akame "the Jaegers, they're here and they brought a lot of reinforcements."

"Bullshit!" Rabac shouted "they would've tripped my traps.

Tatsumi paused a moment "….they have three people leading them here, one of them can see your wires"

"How many of them?" Akame questioned still finishing her meat but hastily.

"All seven Jaegers, including Esdese"

"Shit" Ieyasu got out

"-they have three more fighters and…" there was a long pause before he continued "I count…over 50 reinforcements"

The silence that followed after those numbers was deafening until Leone broke it with a chuckle "talk about overkill"

"We need to escape" Sayo suggested.

"From what I'm seeing" Tatsumi began "those three trackers are following a trail by scent, sight, and hearing."

"This base has too much valuable information to just abandon" Akame spoke while biting her thumb in a rare moment of anxiety.

"And boss isn't back yet!" Rabac growled "she'd be walking in a slaughter, we can't leave."

"So we're supposed fight with those odds!?" Mein yelled "not even I'm that suicidal!"

"I say we fight!" Leone cracked her knuckles

"Are you deaf Leone?" Mein began "they have an army!"

The buxom blonde shrugged "we have Tatsumi."

At this all eyes shifted to said boy who shifted under their gaze "actually, you don't" he pointed up" everyone followed the path directly to a clock.

A clock that read 12:01.

A collective _'shit'_ went through Leone, Mein, Ieyasu and Rabac's mind.

"The terms of my contract with Najenda have ended" before anyone could speak an unknown force washed over them "I'm leaving and anyone who tries to stop that from happening will be dealt with how I see fit."

That declaration gave everyone pause, a silent understanding between the more clever people in the room (Mein, Akame, Sayo, Rabac, Luna) and confusion on the not so clever members (Ieyasu, Leone, Schere, Air, Fal).

Luna followed without question while Air and Fal looked hesitant but only for a moment but they followed soon after. They fell into step behind their master and who took slow strides, Air at least wanted to ask a question but Luna shook her head.

She silently conveyed the message _trust our master_

Meanwhile Ieyasu growled "are we just going to let him leave like that?"

Sayo used her fist and knocked him upside the head "you idiot Tatsumi isn't not leaving us alone"

"Crow is still here" Schere pointed to the bird perched where it always was.

Ieyasu thought about it while rubbing the lump on his head and then it hit him

Since when does Tatsumi _walk?_

The Night Raid members then went about preparing for the eventual assault, making sure to get rid of every evidence.

* * *

Meanwhile Tatsumi, Air, Fal and Luna had descended the mountain and was already walking in a straight line when he stopped. His three servants also stopped but tensed once they came face to face with another group.

"YOU!" Seryu shouted at the hooded girl.

Luna didn't react on the outside but she was a little panicked by their numbers.

"She the crazy bitch you beat earlier Luna" Fal asked cheekily.

Seryu's eyes narrowed, her fists clenched but before she could act Esdese stepped forward. Tatsumi also stepped forward, the girls stayed behind, not wanting to hinder their master should a fight break out.

Both warriors stopped a good twenty feet from one another

"Tatsumi" she smiled.

"General Esdese" he replied in a cold neutral voice.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Guess whose back bitches! Ha, ha well I hope I managed to meet your expectations with Esdese and Tatsumi's first meeting which was just a taste because next chapter is an all out brawl between both parties and I promise to make it epic.**

 **Unfortunately it won't be anytime soon, I have finals next week but I just wanted to give a chapter before hand to let people know this story isn't dead and I got myself a working laptop. I actually wanted to include more but decided to split this into a two part battle sequence.**

 **The first of probably more I assure you.**

 **Anyway rate, review and remember stay frosty, Streggae out!**


	8. Kill The Jaegers Part 2

**Author's Notes: Now I know after last chapter you're all going to be expecting something epic (I did promise after all) but just in case I'll apologize because in my attempt to make epic fight scenes I may have overdid it but considering this is the first chapter since finals I might as well give you guys not a bone but a whole chicken cooked to perfection with all the fixings. Seriously this is like the longest chapter I've done or ever will do so you better appreciate it…and appreciate that I may not update for a while after.**

 **Also I'm trying something new, so '\' will signify a scene change instead of a line break.**

 **Chapter 8: Kill The Jaegers Part 2**

For a long while neither of them did anything but stare at each other or at least one of them did anyway. The tension in the air was so palpable that not even Dr. Stylish made an attempt to do or say anything. In fact he might just have one of his guards kill anyone who disrupted this intense stare down.

The doctor was practically salivating, he didn't think anyone could ever rival Esdese-sama when it came to style but he was proven wrong. He hadn't even known the boy for more than a few minutes yet, his appearance, attitude (what little is shown) and his presence brought a whole new type of stylishness that, while different, is definitely on Esdese's level.

Kurome's grip on Yatsuhusa tightened both in frustration and veiled nervousness. The path to her sister was right before her and it was being blocked by these four. If it were anyone else they would've been cut down but that wasn't the case. As much as she wanted to be reunited with her nii-san, she wasn't foolish enough to outright attack that person.

Bols and Wave were the most nervous though they tried to their very best to mask it after all they out of everyone were actual soldiers who followed orders. A whimper alerted Seryu to her Teigu who was hiding behind her leg. He was actually afraid and that was the only thing stopping her from charging ahead.

Out of everyone Run might have been the only one who wasn't overly concerned with the mystery boy Tatsumi. Of course he was wary but what truly grabbed his attention were the three girls standing just behind him. Truthfully he wasn't worried about them, he was worried _for_ them.

He was also worried for himself as well because he really doubted he could bring himself to actually kill them which would be the better of the two choices they had now that they were found. He could tell from his unique presence that the boy may be a match for Esdese but even so they had a veritable army to their 11 member group.

He wouldn't be able to get out of there and even if they do survive then they would be left at the mercy of the demented doctor.

Air, Fal and Luna waited with bated breath with the former noting how their enemies (minus Esdese) all reacted in some way.

' _They can feel Master's overwhelming pressure'_

Her azure eyes trailed to the dog Teigu that seemed to shrink in itself, she dipped her head slightly to hide her slight smile.

Fal was a little on edge, she knew her master well enough to know that he wasn't about to leave Night Raid hanging like that. The fact that he chose to walk out of the place instead of teleporting was a dead giveaway to his intentions regardless of what he said. Which was why his next words didn't bother her.

"As of ten minutes ago my contract with Night Raid ended" he spoke calmly "to be clear I don't care about them or you and this war between Honest and the Revolutionary Army. As far as I'm concerned the Capital is a lost cause that should be razed to the ground and you're all idiots for risking your lives defending it."

While his words didn't particularly faze Esdese, Run and Stylish, it struck a nerve with the others as they faithfully served the empire as a sailor, soldier, assassin and police officer. His words affected Seryu the most.

" **You** " her anger simmered to a boiling point **"HOW DARE YOU!"**

"ENOUGH" with that one word Esdese diffused the situation before her subordinate got herself killed.

She leveled an icy glare that would make most tremble in fear "it appears that I will not be able to negotiate a way for you to join us" her eyes closed as her hand went to the hilt of her weapon "in that case I will have to change your mind after I escort you to the torture chambers" she slowly drew her rapier "I will handle him, _alone_ " she punctuated the last word "I will leave eliminating Night Raid to the rest of you" she stepped forward.

Instead of going into a stance Tatsumi instead folded his arms "I'm not here for a fight. I just wanted to clear the air, I am not affiliated with Night Raid nor do I care for your war. I was leaving this place never to return again."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way Tatsumi. You willfully aided in the escape of wanted fugitives, that alone would deserve the death penalty. Although that could be avoided if you were to pledge your allegiance to the Empire and join the Jaegers as my second-in-command" she offered.

Everyone except Esdese and Tatsumi didn't even try to hide their shock at her words uttered. The shock was further punctuated with his next words

"Does that offer extend to those three girls" he thumbed to the three standing behind him "they are my servants after all."

"M-master…." Air began but was cut off.

"Yes" Esdese replied cutting off whatever the pink haired girl was about to say.

Tatsumi cupped his chin in thought and hummed.

"Captain you can't be serious!" Seryu shouted furiously but was ignored.

Esdese never once lost her neutral expression as she tried to read the boy before her. Even in a relatively casual stance she still couldn't tell if he was ready to attack or defend. She could only rely on her battle instincts to help when the time came.

"And I guess that means I will have to be under _your_ protection."

"Of course" she said not missing a beat.

"…I see you're still on about that" he slowly lowered his arms and Esdese tensed "and you're getting in the way of me leaving" he didn't tense so much as his body shifted slightly "then I'll have to eliminate you."

"We both know how that ended earlier" she allowed a smirk to show.

"There's a difference between then and _now_ " he said calmly.

"And what would that be?"

Before her mouth finished forming the last syllable Tatsumi already closed the distance with his fist drawn back as he calmly spoke "I'll go all out from the start."

Esdese's body reacted before her brain caught up and a barrier of ice formed protecting her face. She caught a glimpse of Tatsumi's fist, his ink black fist, as it broke through her ice barrier like glass. She could do nothing as Tatsumi punched her square in the jaw and her vision did flip flops as she was tossed by the sheer force of the hit.

Kurome didn't know what was happening, first he was speaking to the captain then he was gone and something exploded beside her like the sonic boom of a colossal danger beast taking flight. Her head snapped to the side and she felt something she never actually felt in a very long time.

Panic.

The boy Tatsumi was right next to her, his fist still extended and the captain nowhere to be seen but before she could use Yatsuhusa he grabbed her wrist before she could draw it, kicked Seryu away and tossed her at Run. He spun and hurled several daggers at Stylish and his men, none of them hit their marks as Koro enlarged himself to protect Stylish and his three trackers. Tobi evaded the dagger aimed at his head while Kaksan caught the dagger in his mouth before biting down and breaking it.

"You're puny daggers can't hope to even injure, _Little_ Boy!" the large man cackled before rushing at him.

Tatsumi ignored him for a moment to spin around, deflecting an armored fist and grabbed Wave by the face. Even with Grand Chariot's armor he could feel the pressure threatening to break the armor.

To his surprise Tatsumi paused to say "you don't belong with these scum. Stay out of the way" with those words he delivered a palm strike so hard it left a hand print in his chest as he crashed into Bols.

Without looking his hand lashed out to catch Kaksan's punch. With no visible effort Tatsumi dragged the modified human's fist, which was easily three times the size of his palm, with enough strength to make the giant topple forward. Tatsumi finished the move with a backflip kick under the chin and Kaksan was sent flying away.

Before the Jaegers could properly organized themselves Esdese shot forward with a wide smile and a bloody nose. Tatsumi turned to acknowledge her with a short sword ready and the moment they came within inches of each other, they disappeared.

*Clash*

*Clank*

*Shing*

The echoes of their weapons and the sparks connecting them were the only thing anyone could see or hear. After a few tense seconds and more than a battle's worth of unseen fierce exchanges both warriors skidded back on the other side of the battlefield after a particularly loud clash and an explosion of black and blue.

Tatsumi's feet slid back while he had a horse stance, his shadow stretched along halting his movements. Esdese actually had one hand clawed in the ground leaving a trail of ice as she slid backwards. The general stopped first, she raised her palm and small needles of spikes formed from the ice trail.

" _Weiss Schnabel"_

Tatsumi made a straight dash towards her, his hands were a blur when he met her attack head on. The ice needles literally disintegrated as he passed harmlessly through them. Esdese also shot to him, they went into another clash faster than any of their subordinates could see but it was Esdese who won and Tatsumi was sent careening towards his servants.

' _Its time'_ he flipped in midair right before he landedin front of Air, Fal and Luna who had looks of disbelief.

Esdese uncaring of who got in the way shot after him with a euphoric smile which was dropped when he placed his palm in the ground. A huge pillar of darkness erupted surrounding all three of them before black tendrils shot at her. She smirked and cut them but even more kept coming out and she had no choice but to disengage and regroup with the rest of her team.

However it seems as if his attack wasn't meant for _just_ her as the tendrils attempted to drag all of the Jaegers into it except for Wave and Bols- she filed that away for later considerations. Seryu helped Stylish escape and Run took to the skies. Bols attempted to burn the Tendrils however to his shock Rubicante's flames didn't consume it like he'd expect.

Suddenly Esdese realized something – Night Raid hadn't yet come out _'was he a distraction?'_

"Dr. Stylish!"

Said man had been following her fight (or at least tried to) and was still watching Tatsumi with adoration she had only seen him give her.

"Yes Esdese-sama!"

"Tell your men to commence the attack on Night Raid! The rest of you follow as well, I'll handle Tatsumi!" as she said this she prepared to do a Hagel Sprung to crush the pillar but paused once she heard a scream.

Actually it was multiple screams and she wasn't the only one to hear them. Heads turned as not one, not ten but even more people to count started falling from the sky. The black tendrils were quick to impale or otherwise capture them into the black pillar. No one recognized them until one shouted

"STYLISH-SAMA!" before being dragged into the abyss never to be seen again.

Then the realization dawned on them, it was Stylish's elite guards and thye were being taken and eliminated.

' _Not without a fight they won't'_

He released the concentrated paralysis gas and for a moment the tendrils faltered only to lash out even more and going for the doctor himself. Luckily Seryu was by his side but had to use her cannon to destroy the tendrils threatening to kill her benefactor.

"Dr Stylish you need to hide in the forest"

"No!" Esdese shouted "stay away from the shadows, it's the source of his powers!"

Suddenly it made sense how he was able to find all of Stylish's pawns. They were modified to blend in the shadows, unseen until called upon. In this case it backfired and it just made it easier to pick them off.

' _Enough of this'_ Esdese raised her finger to the sky

" _Hagel Sprung"_

A building sized block of ice formed, easily twice the size of the black pillar and thick enough to withstand its tendrils. She tossed it at the pillar and as expected the tendrils shot forward to stop it. What Esdese or any of the Jaegers didn't expect was for a giant pink energy beam to shoot into the giant ice block and shatter it into pieces.

Esdese gritted her teeth she knew that blast anywhere, how could she ever forget the Teigu of her former friend and fellow general. The pillar dispersed revealing Tatsumi, his three servants and the members of Night Raid known and unknown until now. She also noted the bloodstained grass as well as some corpses of Stylish's guards- reduced to dried out husks.

Leone looked at Esdese and smiled ruefully _'damn he actually managed to do it'_

"I've eliminated their army so only the Jaegers are left" he directed his words to Akame.

The red eyed assassin nodded gratefully, her eyes roaming the battlefield until they locked onto her target

"Kurome" her grip on Murasame tightened.

"I've got the armored guy" Ieyasu spoke, decked out in Incursio.

"MOVE!" Tatsumi yelled just as a Spike of ice shot out where they had been standing.

Esdese was immediately on Tatsumi who opted to lead them as far away from the others as possible. Ieyasu went after wave the first chance he got but was halted when Bols used Rubicante's flames.

Sayo watched through Spectator and her eyes widened in panic "DON'T LET THE FLAMES TOUCH YOU!" she shouted.

That was all he needed to hear to deftly avoid them and at the last minute raise his arms in a cross guard to block the mother of all kicks. He skidded back to glare at his opponent clad in black armor.

"That armor is the prototype for my Grand Chariot"

Ieyasu rubbed his cracked arm guards slowly "is that right?"

"So you must be Bradht" Wave went into a stance

The mention of his bro by him made his eye twitch in anger but it was Wave's next words which truly set him off

"I thought you'd be taller"

Ieyasu was on him the moment he finished that sentence " **he** _ **was**_ " with those words the battle between the armored Teigu users commenced.

\

Kurome wasted no time in confronting her sister "sis"

"Kurome.."

They both stared at each other waiting for the other to make the first move. This intense stand-off between sisters with unfinished business felt _really_ awkward to the guy whom was beginning to feel like a third wheel at this point.

' _What do I do? What so I do!?'_ Rabac wondered unsure, his eyes swept the battlefield to see everyone else engaging he looked to the sisters _'this is clearly between the two of them'_ and just as he was about to go away to assist elsewhere Kurome spoke.

"I'm so glad I was able to see you again big sister" she said with a small clap and a smile.

Rabac noticed Akame's grip on Murasame tighten and Kurome's next words gave the reason why

Her expression turned sinister "if I cut you down" she drew her Teigu "I could add you to Yatsuhusa's collection" Akame drew her Teigu as Kurome pointed hers to the sky.

Rabac watched with morbid interest as hands started sprouting from the ground and even closer to the Jaeger member a giant skeletal hand came out the ground. Despite her blank stare Kurome could see that Akame did not expect the giant skeleton.

"Even if it's already a corpse I've become able to make anything a puppet _sis_. The hand reached down to scoop up its mistress "even if it's an ultra-class dangerbeast Destaghoul!"

Akame's eyes were still glued to her sister but Rabac's were focused on the _other_ corpse dolls and a single thought came to mind _'shit'_

\\\

Run surveyed the battlefield in order to provide aerial support and even he was momentarily distracted by the sight of the Dangerbeast.

"To think she had an ultra class dangerbeast as well. We may not have needed Esdese's help in beating them"

It was a bittersweet thought at best, he really held no grudge against Night Raid and he even supported some of their actions, the capital needed to be cleansed of some people. Alas they were found and it would be suspicious if he didn't act accordingly.

His eyes landed on the green haired boy wearing goggles, he was distracted by the emerging corpse dolls

' _I'll make it quick and painless'_ he thought sending several feathers in his direction.

It was meant to be a clean headshot however they were all blocked by a dark mass, he recognized all too well. His eyes widened as he whirled around.

' _He couldn't have been finished with Esdese..'_

He stopped mid thought and his usually calm features were replaced with clear surprise. There _floating_ before him was none other than one of the three girls. She had no wings yet she was still up there with him. There was nothing inherently different about her, except her eyes, before they were the same color as her hair, pink.

Now they were as black as the night sky with eerie purplish glow about them.

"I will not let you harm my friends" she declared threateningly.

Her words snapped him out of his shock "I do not wish to harm you, please leave"

Her eyes softened "I don't want to fight you either, you, the man with the mask and that man in the armor aren't like the rest of them, you are good people like Night Raid" she lamented sadly.

This came as a shock to him but he forced it from his features "so-"

"But that doesn't mean I will run away, master told me I could do as I please" her gaze hardened and Run could feel her eyes peer into his soul "and I choose to protect my friends"

Run's grip on his book tightened "then so be it" he said quietly before sending several feathers towards the girl faster than the human eye could see.

They weren't aimed at any of her vital spots but that was irrelevant. A shield formed to block the attack and she flashed her fingers behind it. Five throwing knives shot from the shield towards Run who maneuvered out of the way.

Air followed close behind.

\

While her friend dealt with the one in the air Luna was in a confrontation with the crazy brunette from earlier today. If she was being honest Luna was quite pleased with this result. Even more pleased than she should be but this woman, this _idiot_ struck a nerve with her, not because of their confrontation but because of her naivety and beliefs.

Luna hated Seryu because of her blind, misguided and idiotic faith in the empire and all that it stands for. The same empire who buys little village girls from the country side and have them tortured to death for entertainment.

The worst part was that she believed she was actually on the side of justice and anything even remotely related to a crime deemed by the empire is 'evil.' Luna could actually feel the muscles in her emotionless mask break. The longer she looked at the self righteous bitch the more she felt the urge to have her pets feast on her corpse.

And it wasn't _only_ because of the amount of evil she felt coming off the girl.

Luna _had_ to-no _needed_ to kill this girl.

Too bad not everyone shares her belief.

"Get out of here kid, we have a score to settle with her" Mein spoke.

Mein wasn't the only one there with her, Schere and Fal were also next to her. On the other side Seryu, an enlarged Koro, along with Stylish and his subordinates.

The doctor took the time to survey his pieces _'as the King I have a Queen, a Rook and a Bishop'_ he grinned _'its time to start this Stylish operation'_

"Seryu I understand those two are the Night Raid members who escaped you the last time?"

"Yes"

"Then you take care of them"

Seryu whirled around "but what about that girl"

If it were possible his smile turned sinister "if what you told me about her is true then I'm sure she would be no problem, isn't that right Kaksan?"

The burly man laughed "of course Stylish-sama, none of her little beasts will even faze me!"

Stylish didn't doubt it, he modified the former inmate turned loyal experiment to be as strong as Koro.

He turned to the other man "your opponent's abilities are unknown so make sure to be careful Tobi"

"I am performing at peak capacity, I won't lose to anyone" the bespectacled man answered confidently.

"Oh and do make sure to keep their bodies intact, especially the ones for the two subordinates of that man. I'm very interested to experiment on them"

"SORRY I'M NOT INTO CREEPY OLD GEEZERS!"

All heads turned to Fal who continued "that's right I'm talking to you perv! What's wrong couldn't get a live girls so you f*ck corpses instead?"

Everyone's mouth dropped at her exclamation but that was what she intended. Faster than they could react her eyes flashed black tinted purple and she stuck her hand in the ground. A moment later spikes protruded from the ground impaling the three trackers before dragging them into the ground back to Fal.

Koro was also impaled but he managed to get out the way with Stylish and Seryu in tow, Tobi and Kaksan were able to react at the last minute. Mein, Luna and Schere took advantage of Fal's last minute plan/impulsive action.

Schere appeared before Tobi who was within Extase's grasp "I'm sorry" was what she said before cleanly bisecting the man who reacted fast enough to attempt to block but not dodge.

Kaksan hadn't even landed properly from his retreat before a shadow beast was upon him. He branded a greatsword and swung at it but to his shock it split along the path of his strike and coiled around him like a snake. In fact the previously pitch black fur of the beast gave was to scales which held him tightly.

He glared at the hooded girl "you can't keep me here forever"

"I don't need to"

*Ssss*

The sound of hissing made the man look up and into the crimson orbs of a pitch black Dangerbeast.

"Basilisk" Luna began "have the power to coil their victims with enough pressure to easily crush a house and their mouths can unhinge to swallow three times the size of their heads with enough pressure to break steel."

At those words the snake opened its mouth and the last thing the modified human saw was pitch darkness.

Luna's attention remained on the fleeing Jaeger even as her pet finished swallowed the man whole. Mein was relentless with her assault on the fleeing Teigu knowing it could not protect its master and retaliate. Fal was already on their tail as she finished absorbing the three strange looking humans.

Schere wasn't too far behind either.

A wide jump later and Fal was literally on top of them, her hand turned into claws as she poised to take out 'the creepy old perv' who wanted to experiment on her when there was a shout.

" _Magma Drive"_

Fal never saw it coming a ball of reddish yellow fire blindsided her. She screamed in pain as it shot her into the ground and exploded, engulfing a small portion of the field in fire.

Schere was horrified "Fal!"

"Shit" Mein cursed as she set her sights on her new target.

And Luna calmly looked from where her friend was to Bols and narrowed her eyes _'that man's Teigu is going to make things difficult'_

\\\

"This could've gone better" Rabac griped as he dodged the bullets from the girl he eventually made a square shield with his strings.

' _Okay time to-'_ his thoughts were halted when the ape man rushed him

He jumped out the way but not before using his strings catch its hand "gotcha!" he exclaimed.

His small victory ended when a man jumped out of his shadow and if he hadn't seen it done a million times by Tatsumi he would've been shocked.

As it stands he was just pissed "oh come one!" he narrowly dodged a stab though it left a large cut, it was superficial but damn did it sting!

He would have reacted but he suddenly found it hard to breathe when something wrapped around his neck and practically yanked him to the ground. A moment later he looked to see it was a whip attached to a familiar face.

' _General Rokgough!?'_ he thought but came out as a strangled cry

He didn't have time to think as the freaky man in the black cloak and the ape was upon him. That's when an arrow pierced the side of the apeman's head. Hentarr blocked the first moved his head to dodge the second but ended up taking the third in the shoulder. The whip around Rabac's neck retracted as Rokgough blocked the shots.

The green haired assassin didn't wait any time to scramble to his feet and used his strings to wrap around the disoriented Apeman and soon he was able to decapitate it.

"One down four to go" he said now back to back with Sayo "and what took you so long?"

"You're welcome" was the grumpy reply as she shot at the gunwoman.

Rabac chuckled "well now that you're here we can die together" he stretched strings between his fingers with a grim smile.

' _I really hope Akame's having better luck than me'_

 _\\\_

Akame wasn't having much luck either as she crossed blades with her sister and Natala. She would've gotten a hit on her weakened sister but Natala was taken much of her time, not to mention the bald man with a riot shield who kept blocking her Teigu.

Then there was the ultra class dangerbeast who decided to take another shot at her when it was clear to do so. Akame narrowly dodged the initial hit but couldn't stop herself from being blown back from the force. She tried though, sticking Murasame in the ground to stop her movement.

Her senses flared and she rolled to the side missing Natala's ground shattering descent only to bring her sword in a block as Kurome attempted sneak attack. She wasn't prepared to be shield bashed a few feet away and right into the path of Natala's blade only it didn't happen.

Natala redirected his weapon to block when a yellow clawed paw threatened to knock his head off "oh nice reaction for a puppet" the voice brimming with mirth sounded.

"Leone" that was all that was said to acknowledge the girl before setting her sights on Kurome.

\\\\\

He was fast.

She was relentless.

He had better reflexes.

She had greater strength.

He could fluidly use his powers.

Her Teigu had a greater area of effect.

He didn't like this and hated every minute of it.

She thrived for it and loved every single second of it.

He really, truly, hated this woman and everything she stood for.

She found one more reason to love him with every move he made against her.

Yet Tatsumi wouldn't admit that he found Esdese to be..interesting if nothing else. He certainly didn't find her attractive, he wouldn't really call someone attractive since he couldn't see. Actually if he were to go on his senses along with the disgusting feeling he got from the absurd amount of lives she's taken he found Esdese to be repulsive in the highest order of the word.

He could hear her words, her compliments on his battle prowess against her and his future as her significant other painted her as arrogant, stubborn and probably insane. The few times she's managed to get her hands on him and vice versa she was cold to the touch. And his nose always picks up the scent of ice, blood and corpses on her, it's faint but still there.

Mixed in with the fact that she's practically a remorseless killer who has probably killed thousands doesn't paint a pretty picture of the Empire's strongest. The fact that she has, more or less, been on the offensive in their fight leaves much to be desired.

' _She must be enjoying the fact that I could keep up'_ he thought as he skipped back.

Esdese was upon him in moments and they clashed before one swing sent him flying back. He was quick to land and dodge the follow up attack that cut clean through a tree. In fact they had cut a swath through the immediate area leaving a trail of destroyed and/or cut trees and ice.

There was a momentary clash before disappearing only to reappear in a random area to do a single slash at each other which resulted in a loud clang. This happened for several moments before the force of a mid air slash sent them both careening at opposite ends into trees.

At the last moment they both did a mid air backflip and kicked off the trees to go at each other again. They past each other but there was no ring of metal. Esdese landed with a bleeding cut on her shoulder but she paid it no mind.

"I must say you continue to amaze me Tatsumi" she turned around, as did he "I haven't been able to land a proper hit on you" her smile deepened "you really aren't holding back as much as the first time" she raised her sword "if you truly wish to defeat you would have to show me mo-

"Shut up"

Her words died in her mouth, not because of his words but his tone.

He continued "blah, blah, blah all you've done is talk and get injured. You haven't been able to land a single meaningful hit. They call you 'The Empire's Strongest' but if I were to use one word to describe you right now general it would be _disappointing_."

Now she was used to certain tones when someone spoke to her, she was used to casual tones spoken to her by the Prime Minister. Adoration by her subordinates, fear by her victims and anger by her more outspoken victims.

Tatsumi didn't have any of those, in fact he didn't even have the cold neutrality she'd come to expect from him. From her stand point he sounded, absolutely, genuinely and surprisingly really, _**bored**_. The thought made her look down so the brim of her hat hid her features.

Both fighters felt the presence of something flying overhead and while Esdese didn't move he inclined his head upwards "it looks like Najenda came back and she brought backup."

Esdese didn't move, didn't speak, in fact the only thing she did was to slowly pull at the brim of her hat down and her hand tighten around her weapon. When Tatsumi heard this, his knees bent a little and he prepared for what was to come.

As always the only warning, the only indication he got was the drop in temperature, then she struck.

\\\

Najenda was a little more than startled when ice literally exploded in the forest below. No she was downright fearful as of that moment. She knew something was wrong the moment she got close but seeing that made her worst fears come to light.

"Whoa what was that!?" Chelsea questioned watching as the ice grew into something like a cage.

"Not what, _who_ " Najenda corrected "it seems that our base was compromised. Be prepared for a fight!"

When they finally cleared the forest to get a clear view of the pandemonium that used to be her hideout Najenda felt a mixture of worry and anger. She could barely make out anyone so far but she knew that the fight was intense.

"Is that a Dangerbeast?"

Najenda looked on and there it was, a skeletal dangerbeast "it must be the work of a Teigu" her eyes roamed that particular battle and she could make out a girl eerily similar to Akame sitting atop the beast.

' _Kurome'_ the infamous little sister.

She could make out four of subordinates being overwhelmed by multiple opponents and…her eyes widened _'Rokgrough!?'_

It can't be, he's dead he….her eyes burned with anger.

Skeletal danger beast and a supposedly dead comrade?

Her fist tightened she knew where she was needed "Susanoo can you handle the dangerbeast?"

"Yes" was the answer as the hood disappeared revealing a blue haired man with bull horns, his eyes snapped to the side "get down!" he yelled

Najenda was quick to duck as several projectiles headed her way and Susanoo prepared to deflect them but it was not needed. Something formed to protect them just as something landed on the air Manta.

"Are you alright?"

Najenda and Chelsea stared in bewilderment as they saw a pink haired girl standing before them. The former general gave her a once over before her eye landed on the symbol around her neck. She then remembered Tatsumi's request before she left and came to the conclusion

"You're one of Tatsumi's servants"

The girl nodded "my name is Air, you must be Boss"

"I am" she stood "what's the situation?"

"The Jaegers tracked us to the location of the base. Master lead Esdese away from the conflict and I was keeping that man with the wings busy"

' _So I was right'_ she thought.

"Very well get back to what you are doing, do not allow that man to offer any air support. If you can't kill him then damage his Teigu at least"

"Yes ma'am" she said resolutely before it vanished when Susanoo loomed over her "e-eh?"

The next thing she knew he was smoothing out her hair "done!" he exclaimed revealing her once disheveled hair in its pristine condition.

Air seemed to catch on to what he did and her purple tinted dark yes blinked "oh-um thank you" she bowed before taking to the sky.

Najenda didn't even question how she managed to fly without any wings and instead turned to the other passengers "Chelsea we're going, make sure to find an opportune time to strike"

"Roger" the girl saluted.

Najenda and Susanoo then descended to join the fray.

\\\

Wave had to admit this guy may not have been Braht but he could fight and considering that he's been keeping him on his toes despite using Grand Chariot's prototype Incursio he must be really good. However it was obvious Wave had him beat when it comes to hand to hand combat.

Ieyasu skidded back as Wave followed through with a flying kick right into his crossguard, another kick was deflected and Ieyasu did a straight punch which was blocked. This continued on for a full two minutes with each punch, kick, block and counter until Ieyasu did something unexpected.

Mid way through his opponents kick the white armored man jumped back and held his hand to his side before dashing towards his opponent. Before Wave had a chance to know what he was doing Ieyasu struck, not with his fist but with a lance he summoned at the last minute.

The hit completely caught wave off guard and the man was sent flying before he caught himself in mid air…. and just sorta hovered there.

"Wait your armor lets you hover? That is so unfair!"

"You know what else is unfair? Using sneaky tricks to catch me off guard!"

Ieyasu shrugged leaning Neuotte on his shoulder "I'm an assassin, I'm supposed to be sneaky"

Okay Wave had to give him that the bastard but since he's using weapons now- he summoned his own lance.

"Of course you'd have your own" Ieyasu mumbled before setting in a stance as Wave began to descend at top speed.

\\\

Mein thought killing that psycho was going to be at least challenging because of that Teigu but with Schere, Luna and Fal they would be able to overpower her. Then the weirdo with the flame thrower had to show up to make things difficult.

Fal was out and most likely dead since the flames consume anything they engulf. Oddly enough Luna was taking it pretty well. That was besides the point though

"Dammit" she shot another missile out of the sky.

Almost immediately after Bols showed up Seryu made Koro take out all manner of weaponry and Mein had to wonder

' _How the hell does she fit all that crap into the freaking dog that's the size of a ball most of the time!?'_

With Bols covering for Seryu a long distance battle was started leaving Schere to be almost completely useless in the fight. That made her a prime target especially since she couldn't properly defend herself. Luckily Luna provided transport via her shadow beasts to dodge the projectiles. Luna wasn't too keen on letting that fire near her shadow beasts especially since she still hadn't gotten to the girl yet.

Stylish was far away from the battle, with no guards and no offensive Teigu he really needed to make a retreat for he served no purpose at the moment. He went to move when his landed on the burnt corpse of one of that man's subordinates. She was far away from the battle and Rubicante's flame had nearly extinguished.

A smile crept onto his face- he would have his experimental material after all. He made his way over to the blackened corpse until he stood before her blackened body. He frowned staring at her, true she was burned, badly at that but he was expecting to see a mangled skeleton. Rubicante's flames don't extinguish until nothing remained.

His eyes went wide in realization but it was too late as Fal's eyes snapped open with a evil grin reminiscent of Seryu adorned on her face "GOTCHA BITCH!"

Before Stylish could even react he was impaled through the chest. He looked down then at the girl who began to rise, he saw the black matter pass over her burn scars covering half her face.

' _I-it nullifies even Rubicante's flames'_ he thought and opened his mouth to comment but only managed to cough blood.

Fal felt his body shudder and her smirk turned cruel "what's up doc? To me you act like the type of guy who would just loved tobe _impaled_ by something _long_ and _hard_."

The man could only sputter more blood.

"DR. STYLISH!"

Fal looked to see Seryu's horrified expression and her smile turned absolutely inhuman as her eyes glowed in the moonlight. Claws formed on her other hand and she hoisted the doctor above her head and used her claws to grab the upper half of his torso before savagely ripping it in half. It didn't stop there, shadow tendrils caught the body before consuming it even the blood covering her face was soaked up by the shadow.

Her brutal killing gave even her teammates pause but Fal paid it no mind as she locked eyes with Bols who witnessed everything. A vicious snarl escaped her lips

"YOU'RE NEXT A**HOLE" she charged at them with reckless abandon.

With tears streaming down her eyes Seryu focused her attention on the girl who dared kill her mentor and father figure.

"Koro Berserker mode" the Teigu complied and released an earth shattering roar that actually stunned Fal " **KILL, KILL HER!** "

The biological Teigu went after the still stunned girl but was halted when a giant pool of black liquid formed in its path. Luna soon appeared before her comrade and spread her hands

"Luna"

Without looking back she spoke "I've been waiting all night for this" her voice was dark "don't get in my way Fal"

Cleaning her ears the yellow haired girl scoffed "fine, he's not who I'm after anyway" he gaze met Bols who was back to engaging Schere.

Luna didn't pay her any mind even as Koro watched Fal make a break for it, he attempted to follow but had to evade a snake lunge. The Teigu glared at the small girl who returned its glare.

"I owe you and your master a debt" something began to rise from the pool of darkness.

A snake rose, not as big as the Basilisk its red eyes looked around before giant pitch black claws gripped the ground and a giant goat's head rose and finally directly below it a lion's head rose forth and released a loud roar almost as high pitched as Koro's. it pulled its body above the pool of darkness that was actually its body to begin with.

"Biological Teigu Hekatonceres meet Alpha class dangerbeast **Chimera** "

With the heads of a lion below the head of a goat and a tail that was a serpent's entire body the muscular shadowbeast stood several inches taller than Koro on hind legs.

A small part of the shadow that formed it went underneath Luna and elevated to allow her to sit on it like a spectator and she gave one command.

"Chimera" she spoke softly but all three heads turned to her while she got more comfortable to watch " **KILL** "

It turned to Koro and gave a combination of a hiss, a roar and bleat before charging on all fours.

\

Sayo would admit they may have bitten off more than they could chew with this one, not only were she and outnumbered but she was sure _one_ of these guys would be a handful but _five_!? It was suicide but not to mention idiotic.

She reached in her quiver when her stomach dropped- she was out of arrows "shit I'm out" she said dodging the whip and hanging up her bow for a pair of combat knives.

Rabac slammed an halberd made of string against Woll's shield as he yelled "well that's just fan-freaking-tastic!"

He suddenly felt pressure on his abdomen and looked down to see the crazy shadow man pierce his chest with a blade.

" _Direct…hit..hit"_

Rabac smiled as Hentarr tilted his head in confusion at the lack of blood "gotcha.." a quick few shifts of his fingers and string wrapped around his would-be killer's head only he managed to escaped before they could properly constrict "… _bitch_ "

The move left him completely open for Woll to attack and thought he had a layer of string to absorb impact he braced himself. What happened instead was a metal fist connecting to the side of Woll's head cracking the corpse doll's head wide open.

Wait a metal fist!?

Najenda soon landed before him and he couldn't hide the happy expression at seeing her again "Boss!"

"Keep your head in the game Rabac!" she said before sprinting off to confront her former colleague.

"Uh right" he said lamely.

" _Distracted…tracted…tracted"_

' _Ah crap'_ he mentally groaned before diverolling out the way.

Hentarr was quick to follow but Rabac had enough of fighting him "screw this" he made a beeline for the forest, he wasn't much good fighting in open areas anyway.

\

Kurome had decided to sit back and watch as her sister struggled to fight against their childhood friend. Natala was about as skilled as they were currently plus his corpse body makes him impervious to Murasame's curse and since he doesn't get fatigue. As tenacious as her sister was it would only be a matter of time before she wears down.

' _Then I can add her to my collection'_

* **BOOM***

' _Speaking of tenacious'_

The explosion made her avert her attention to the other Night Raid member "that cat lady is also pretty tenacious" she said aloud biting down on another sweet.

Despite not having the attacking power to take down Destaghoul she was trying her hardest to inflict damage on it.

' _Big sister made a lot of good friends-'_

Her hands went to Yatsuhusa as she silently crept up to Leone

\

' _This is getting nowhere fast!'_ Leone thought frantically as she dodged the blast it fired.

She looked around during the momentary lapse to locate Kurome but to her surprise she was nowhere to be found _'she's gone!?'_

That's when her senses flared and she abruptly spun around only to get impaled through the chest, luckily her spin made it miss her heart.

"You should really keep track of your enemies because if you get distracted for even a second they'll use that to do a sneak attack" Kurome smoothly informed with a smile.

Leone snarled angrily at her before using one hand to grip the blade while the other was raised to retaliate lethally. However her movement was halted when something wrapped around her hand, something slimy. The move was so surprising that her grip loosened and Kurome was able to pull her Teigu out.

"What the hel-AAAHHH"

Leone was yanked head first straight the mouth of the dangerbeast Kaiser Frog.

Kurome approached the puppet and petted it "with this I'll be able to have all of them in time"

Her thoughts ended when she sensed a disturbance _'they killed Woll and Apeman!?'_

Her eyes searched the field until they landed on Najenda, her eyes narrowed _'captain said to leave her to her but'_ she smiled cruelly _'it can't be helped if she's going to kill me'_

Before she could act Kaiser Frog suddenly exploded behind her "what!?" she whirled around and leapt back in time to avoid the stomach acid.

A moment later something jumped out of the destroyed corpse doll. The assassin's eyes widened as she locked eyes with a tall man with bull horns carrying the catgirl.

Leone groaned as her eyes fluttered open to see the man "who?"

Susanoo laid the assassin down "are you alright?"

"Ugh" she looked down, parts of her clothes were partially dissolved but not the important parts fortunately. He wound was already starting to heal "yeah I'm good" she groggily got up to glare at her friend's sister.

Kurome gritted her teeth, she had her! Literally in her grasp!

"Destaghoul!" she shouted "kill them"

The skeletal danger beast reared back and released a blast from its mouth that tore through the forest and collided with a precarious dome made entirely of ice.

\

"RAAARGH!" Esdese slash, cut and stab at Tatsumi with everything she had.

Tatsumi pushed himself to keep up and retaliated accordingly to the point where he couldn't even mask his exertion under an expression of indifference.

Esdese was truly pushing the limits of his physical capabilities.

They blindly raced across the makeshift cage Esdese constructed, any and all trees were already cut down by their prolonged battle. The ground they fought on riddled with ice and horribly scarred will never be able to grow life for years to come.

*Crack*

After minutes of intense clash Esdese managed to break through his guard and land a solid hit to his stomach. The force shot him across the field and he smashed into the thick ice dome that cracked horribly. Tatsumi had no time to rest as Esdese was already racing towards him her blade facing downward as she prepared an upward diagonal slash.

Tatsumi managed leap above her but sustained an injury "tch"

' _She cut through my armor!?'_

Esdese went after him before he landed and he was forced on the defensive until he jumped to avoid another slash but it was a feint and Esdese was upon him in the air. She attacked and he blocked which she expected but what she didn't expect was for a second Tatsumi to form out of nowhere aiming a kick to her head.

' _Dammit'_ she cursed as his foot collided with her temple sending her plummeting to the earth head first.

She managed to right herself but it resulted in her rolling backwards n the ground until she used her rapier to halt the procession. She looked forward just in time to see the object of her affection dashing towards her though her vision was a little disorienting from the hit.

' _The real one'_

Immediately a spike of ice jutted from the ground a few feet away from her position but to her shock he didn't stop. The moment he hit the obstacle 'Tatsumi' dissolved into a murder of crows and hit Esdese with the force of a charging dangerbeast. She put her hand up in a crossguard to block but ended up flipping on her stomach.

She looked on to see Tatsumi charging her with blades facing down in a mirror image of her earlier move. She would've dodged hadn't an explosion occur next to them and sending both flying to the side.

Tatsumi sunk into his shadow while Esdese created a stepping stone to leap in the air and survey where her opponent was. The moment she spotted him Esdese back flipped to another stepping stone and shot at him like a bullet with her weapon poised for a horizontal slash. Tatsumi spun twice before his twin swords met Esdese's rapier. The end result was the breaking of both their weapons much to their mild shock.

Even with the force behind their weapons breaking Esdese's momentum had not slowed and she shot past Tatsumi who followed after her. Esdese skidded to a halt and hadn't even fully turned before Tatsumi nailed her with an elbow to the ribs. Esdese knew at least one of her ribs was fractured from it.

She took another elbow to the cheek that rattled her teeth before retaliating with a kick aimed directly at Tatsumi's metal plate. The younger boy stumbled back and Esdese capitalized on this with another kick to the face. Tatsumi dodged by a hairs breath and did his own kick to her abdomen that she blocked simultaneously punching at his throat.

Tatsumi grabbed her wrist before her fist made contact and did a kick directly under her chin. Esdese's head snapped back almost violently but she brought it back down even faster for a vicious headbutt that hit just above his metal plated headband to his forehead. Even close he leaned back as best he could to punch her in the face as hard as he could and though she was forced back she elbowed him on the side of the head.

Esdese was forced off her feet but skipped back to regain her footing while Tatsumi damn near crashed face first into the ground but literally rolled with the momentum to gain some distance. Both of them were panting hard Esdese slouched slightly while Tatsumi was crouched. They were both silent for a moment before Tatsumi stood and Esdese straightened her posture.

They were both covered in dirt and blood though it showed more on Esdese's clothes. With her General's hat long forgotten her attire had multiple cuts. Her face was bruised and she had a split lip, a bloody nose and one of her eye was slightly red. Her eyes glanced at the remnant of her weapon before throwing it away.

Tatsumi also had multiple cuts on his attire though the blood and dirt were mostly covered, what could be seen of his face was multiple bruising, blood came from the side of his head running down where his headband where his eye would be. He had blood trailing down both corners of his mouth and his nose.

For a long moment they just stood unmoving and eventually they got their breathing under control.

Esdese Spat out blood and chose to break the silence "heh, heh-heh" soon she broke out into light chuckling

Tatsumi wiped the corner of his mouth and his brow furrowed "what's so funny?"

"I realized what your plan was when you goaded me into not holding back"

"Oh?"

"Yes, it was obvious now that I thought about it" she smiled "though I didn't expect it from a self proclaimed pacifist."

"I'm not a pacifist, I'm just not enthusiastic about fighting" he bit out.

She waved his comment off "regardless I would have never thought you were interested in knowing if you were stronger than 'The Empire's Strongest' really" she adopted a coy expression "shame on you Tatsumi" she chastised playfully.

"I was curious" he admitted, he wasn't one to lie about things and it's not like it was anything to hide after all this was a learning experience for him "and I've come to a conclusion."

Esdese's arms folded, a smirk adorned her lips. She wasn't one to banter but as an opponent who has forced her to give her all and the one to stand by her side as her lover she would allow it for him. Besides if he, a man of few words suddenly felt talkative she wasn't going to stop him.

Also his assessment of her meant a lot to Esdese, she was almost giddy as she asked "and what conclusion is that?"

"That you're physically stronger than me and though I'm faster you have more experience in battle. In short you're a better hand-to-hand fighter than I am."

Esdese nodded with a smile "excellent assessment" she came to the same conclusion "I noticed that whenever I gain the upper hand you would use the powers of your mysterious Teigu to disrupt the flow of the battle to your favor."

He sighed "I need more training."

"And I will be happy to provide it once I bring you back to the palace."

"Oh" he drawled with a raised eyebrow "I thought you wanted to 'train' me" he air quoted "not train _with_ me. Isn't that how you do things, find some poor guy then 'train' him to be your pet?"

Esdese frowned at this, during her fight with him she had made several observations and arrived at an epiphany. Any pretenses she had of trying to break him were now gone, she actually preferred this Tatsumi to an obedient one that would follow her orders to the letter and throw himself at her feet.

"No you would not be like that pathetic urchin of a man Numa" Her face twisted in a scowl as she remembered him.

"You are to be my equal Tatsumi, my lover" she blushed "not my pet I don't have to _train_ you nor do I want to. I love you as you are."

' _Short, mysterious, brooding and frowning with the strength to rival myself and a smile that could brighten my heart.'_

Blinking the thoughts away she looked on and her eyes widened slightly at what she saw.

' _Could it be?'_

It looked like it to her

' _It_ _ **is**_ _'_

Right before her eyes Tatsumi was actually _smiling…_ well not really but she could see how the corner of his lips tugged upwards slightly. Wasn't much but it was a lot better than a frown.

Tatsumi looked down and shifted his feet, he didn't know why but.. he liked the complement though he'll be damned if he ever told her.

"By the way, who's Numa Seika?"

Wait he's heard that name before- wait "the hero of the north"

Esdese snorted "he's no hero that I can assure you of. He's nothing but a worthless man who broke after I conquered the North"

That sparked a memory he overheard, one that made him not want to be within a thousand leagues of this woman "you conquered the north" it wasn't a question.

Not being able to read his mood she smirked "easily"

"You buried allof its people alive."

Esdese's eyes narrowed, there was a coldness to it which was slightly confusing but she answered regardless "yes"

Tatsumi's fist clenched and unclenched "why?"

She raised an eyebrow, the lightness from before now replaced with a heavy tension "to make an example, they dared stood behind someone who would defy the empire and as a result of his weakness they died."

"So, you killed innocent men, women and children because they were 'on the wrong side'" he made to clarify "you could have just left them alone since they can't really help what their king decides" he paused "but I can tell you don't care"

"You are correct" she admitted with all seriousness "I could care less of what the weak think. If they thought it was a bad decision then they should have risen up against it. Instead they were too weak willed to do anything and in the end died a worthless dead because of a worthless leader."

He would have argued but honestly Esdese's presence was making him sick so he gave her a flat "good for you" his head tilted up with frown in place and Esdese felt disappointment "so you think you still want to bring me to your side?" he started walking.

Esdese followed suite and soon they were circling each other "of course."

"You believe you could beat me?"

"I am so far" she said confidently.

"Just because you're a better fighter doesn't mean you'll win."

Especially for people like them.

They stopped circling each other "you're right there's more than that to winning a battle."

He nodded "so now that we've established who has better combat prowess-" he started rolling up his sleeves

She smirked a thrill running through her body as it shuddered in anticipation "let's see who has better control over their Teigu" she finished with her fists clenching.

A layer of frost began forming at her feet while Tatsumi's fist erupted into black flames. A moment later they shot at each other and the cage erupted in a swirl of black and ice blue.

\

' _This is more troublesome than I thought'_

Run would admit that he may have underestimated the younger girl. He still didn't know what kind of Teigu she had but it was obviously similar to his Mastema and she almost had as much control over it as he did. No it was even more advantageous and dangerous than his Teigu for the simple fact that she has control over them.

Not to mention she can apparently form _any_ kind of weapon as shown by the fact that he formed, daggers and lances after him and a shield that was constantly protecting her.

"Tch" Run used one of his wings to attack once she got close.

Then he saw a smirk come over her lips and knew what he did was a mistake. Soon the shield used to defend sprouted thread which constricted it in place.

"I'm sorry" Air spoke before launching several volley of blades.

' _Dammit!'_ Run cursed _'no choice then'_

Right before the attack hit Run activated Mastenas trump card and the disc of the remaining wing split into segments. The wing which now looked ethereal and colored yellow blocked the attack and to Air's shock the blades bounced right back at her, faster than how they were thrown.

"Eh?" was the only word she got out before the blade ran her through.

Almost immediately the shield and even her own weapon started dissolving and she plummeted to the ground.

"No!" Run flew at top speed to catch the falling girl.

When he was in arms length Air's eyes snapped open and Run watched in morbid fascination as her pink eyes were flooded by black like spilled ink on a piece of paper. Her hand stretched out and strings shout out of her sleeves and wrapped around the falling man leaving no room for mobility.

Without the room for his Teigu wings to expand Run was rendered flightless, he saw her make a lance and aimed it at him _'this is it'_ he thought as the weapon flew to him.

Instead of killing him though the weapon struck one of Mastena's disc effectively rendering it useless. Confusion ran through his expression and she smiled before flying into the forest with his tied up body in tow. Once they were a few ways away she lowered them into the dense foliage though she didn't let him go.

"There, you should be safe for now"

"How are you still alive?"

Air blinked before looking down ad unzipped her coat to reveal black strings similar to the one currently used to tie him up.

"Rabac showed me that strings can be used like this"

"But the blood"

She shrugged the coat up to reveal her heavily injured shoulder. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and Run was again shocked as he witnessed the wound stitch together.

"Good as new" she smiled at him.

"Are you a biological Teigu?"

Air cocked her head at him with a cute smile and shook her head "I am my master's servant"

"…why didn't you kill me? I'm your enemy"

Air shook her head again "no you're not, you are Night Raid's enemy and master said we could do what we wanted. I don't want to kill you because you're not a bad person" to further prove her point she released him from his bond "you can't fly anymore, please don't continue fighting, I don't want you to die."

Run opened his mouth to reply but she took off.

The Jaeger member looked at his disc, he wouldn't be using it without some repairs. He could use his other wing but without the flight capabilities he was severely limited. Not to mention he didn't want to fight Night Raid, though he didn't want to see _all_ of his new teammates die. Some of them were actually decent people though the others he could do without.

Just then a loud crash was heard in the distance, close to his position followed by a shout by an all too familiar voice. Run cautiously made his way over to the fight making sure to keep his head low and had Mastena's remaining wing out and curled around himself like a shield.

\

Luna's Obsidian eyes watched as her greatest creation to date does battle with the dog Teigu. She was very proud of herself for creating the Chimera, it was her first beast she chose and had spent the day meticulously going over every intricate detail of its design both internally and externally.

Tatsumi said that it was very important, it makes them more 'real' and independent of her commands. She never doubted him for a second and she can see where it applies here. The main difference between summoning a shadow beast that was absorbed from a dangerbeast and a dangerbeast that was created is that the latter lacked the most important thing any creature has.

It lacked a mind.

So far Luna had integrated what she read in the book and half controlling its actions herself. She was very thankful for the extra material she absorbed, more specifically that muscle bound man. Without him she wouldn't have been able to create another shadowbeast to keep out of harms reach.

The chimera gave two slashed across Koro's head with the second lifting it off its feet. The biological Teigu landed on all fours before rushing to the shadowbeast rushed on all fours as well, horns poised to ram it. They crashed into each other with Koro using its hands to hold the horns and with a roar throws it into the ground with enough force to shake the earth.

The biological Teigu then proceeded to pummel it with its like a jackhammer. Luna squints her eyes in concentration and she watched as the serpent opens its mouth and sprays acidic venom in its eyes. Koro stops and grabs the serpent before ripping it off the Chimera, the base reaction was to roar in pain but Luna takes control at the last minute.

Instead the Chimera rises and grabs both of Koro's arms before the lion head opens its mouth and sprays the Teigu's face with spitfire. This elicit even more painful yelp from it before the Chimera silenced it with an uppercut. Before Koro could even recover it was rammed from the side by the Chimera goat head.

Luna clicked her tongue _'I can't re-grow the serpent, not yet. I will have to absorb it first then..'_ her thoughts trailed off to gaze at the giant skeletal dangerbeast.

\

In all his years as a soldier for the imperial army, he'd never shown any fear. He was a soldier who carried out his orders dutifully and with his Teigu anything that stands in his way was burned to ashes. Yet no matter how many times he did burned her, now matter what type of attack hits her she wouldn't go down.

This girl, no this _monster_ just gets back up and attacks not even bothered by the flames that have so far have reduced everything it hits to a point where not even ashes are seen. In fact she was even smiling, that shadow, covering her entire body was the cause, it was somehow negating the effects of Rubicante's flames and furthermore it was healing all the girls injuries.

Bols was panting now, he had several cuts along his form while the girl, aside from her scorched clothes was completely unharmed. In fact she was smiling, laughing like this was some kind of joke. In a way it was, somehow she was stronger than him, faster than him and completely immune to his Teigu.

' _She could have finished this fight anytime she wanted to'_

The realization made Bols waver which Fal noticed **"what's the matter a**hole?"** her voice was warped like her smile **"you getting cold feet? Come on gimme your best shot cause I've got all night before I rip your f*cking head off!"**

His gaze turned to see Seryu taking on Schere and Mein. She looked to be holding her own but he knew it wouldn't last. She was starting to tire, he knew it and so did them plus she was running out of weapons. Koro stored them, he was busy with some kind creature and was losing by the looks of it.

His attention turned back to the monster before him. The black ink-like tattoo now covered her entire body, branching off and seems to pulsate. It was like she has gone berserk, drunk off her own power. At this rate he'll have no choice but to use _it_ but to do that he'll need to get Seryu as far away as possible.

He fired a ball of fire towards the girl who jumped back before sprinting towards Seryu.

\

Seryu ducked another sniper shot _'these vile villains!'_ she returned fire via a rocket..her last one.

Mein dodged the blast but was temporary blinded by the smoke. Schere used the distraction to get in close but she was spotted.

"You again!" she equipped her upgraded tonfa guns and shot at her.

Without slowing her pace Schere spun Extasy to block each and every shot before twirling and opening the Teigu to cut her head off with a swing. Seryu ducked by a hair's breadth and brought her guns up

"I have you!"

Before she could fire Schere's foot lashes out and catches her under the chin forcing her head to snap back

' _W-what'_

"I'm sorry" Schere mutters "it was a reflex from the training Tatsumi put me through" she charged before the girl could properly land.

Seryu gritted her teeth and opened fire causing her to dodge. Just as she got up a beam pierced through her side.

"Agh" she spat up blood and looked to see Mein taking aim "YOU BITCH!"

Before Mein could fire off another round she abruptly moved out the way, just in time as several balls of fire was shot.

"Mein!" Schere was forced to retreat as well.

"Bols?" Seryu spoke as the masked man, who looked worse for wear came by her side and erected a fiery barrier.

"We need to go!"

"Go? We can't leave, I won't leave like this not _again_!"

Bols abruptly turned around and though she couldn't see it, she could _feel_ his glare and for a moment her determination wavered.

"We're outnumbered, I have a plan to end this but we can't be near this place for it to work! Call Koro or he'll be caught in the explosion"

' _Explosion?'_

Then it clicked, if he's warning her then the explosion would cover a wide radius, now she understood.

"Alright"

" **You're not going anywhere!"**

Both of them turned to see a Fal leap through the fire like it was nothing "what is that thing?" Seryu shouted while she opened fire.

The bullets bounced off her armor and only elicited a grunt from the girl **"you're going down too psycho b*tch!"** she raised her hands and her claws grew three times her size before she lunged at Seryu.

Bols blocked her path and fired a concentrated shot of magma at her. It hit Fal square in the chest and she flew out of the semi ring of fire.

"It won't hold her for long! Let's go!"

Both Jaeger members ran towards the beast fight while laying down cover fire.

\

' _He's wearing down'_ Luna observed Koro's sluggish movements _'whatever that berserker mode is must have its limits.'_

Too bad her shadowbeasts don't, much like how she doesn't get tired or require sleep to function her shadowbeasts have endless stamina. The only way for them to stop is if she orders them to stop or they are destroyed.

' _Time to finish it'_

Chimera got on all fours and the goat head released a large stream of fire that enveloped Koro. The dog Teigu writhed in pain as it struggled to regenerate. In the end it fell to the ground, its enlarged form shrunk down to its small size where it fell limp to the ground.

If one could see under Luna's hood right then they would never be able to look at her the same way again. Now that she had proven her superiority over that Teigu Luna had only one more order for the Chimera

" **Consume it!"**

The Chimera approached Koro's prone form, it let out a whine as it struggled to limp away from the approaching shadowbeast. This caused Luna to smile even more and her eyes flashed, this was it, she won.

"Koro NO!"

Her smile dropped as a torrent of flames enveloped part of the Chimera. The beast roared/bleated in pain as the flames increased. Beyond the flames she saw the girl run past the distracted shadowbeast and pick up the Teigu before retreating.

"No!" she snapped "forget about him, get the gi-"

" **Get back here!"**

The warped voice caused Luna to pause and turn towards "Fal?" she whispered as she beheld what her friend as become.

How did that even happen? Luna blinked as she remembered something her master said once

" _-there's a fine line you don't want to cross when using your powers or it could swallow you whole."_

' _Was this what he meant?'_

From Luna's peripheral she could see Mein and Schere heading over there. She saw Mein taking aim but the Chimera was blocking the way, meanwhile Fal has clearly gone berserk. They both

Bols had been backing away as far as he could while Seryu went even farther _'This is good enough'_

Bols unhooked the tank from his back and ran to catch up Seryu who had gotten a head start.

"He left his tank?" Mein saw through her 'scouter'

So it wasn't part of his Teigu? No he'd need the gas to shoot the flames but why would he leave it….!

"No it can't be….FAL, LUNA GET OUT OF THERE!" she shouted.

While Luna looked at her quizzically Fal was in too much of a single-minded frenzy to even hear.

When he deemed them far enough Bols took out a detonator "here goes"

*Click*

"Huh?" Fal saw a light come from the tank she past and could only say "aw shi_"

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

\

Rabac held his bleeding arm _'so much for going in the forest'_

As it turned out, the masked warrior was faster than Rabac and he cut him off. He couldn't even get a hit in because of his strange movements and the bastard somehow found out where he wrapped his body with string.

" _Weak..ness..ness"_ Hentarr said before charging.

' _Dammit is this how I die?'_ he closed his eyes _'I'm sorry miss Najenda'_

*Clang*

"H-huh?" Rabac opened his eyes to see someone blocking his way

"Mr. Rabac"

' _That voice'_

"Air?"

"Are you alright?"

The green haired boy shook his head "what do you think?"

Air recognized the sarcasm _'he's alright'_ she turned her attention to the masked man who was studying her.

"I can hold him off, you go help miss Najenda" she created several daggers and launched them.

Hentarr easily dodged them and went after the fleeing Rabac but was barred when Air used strings to create a pseudo barrier. This time she surrounded him with them

"Dodge this!" she fired them and to her shock he went into the shadow of her net.

Big mistake.

Air pointed her index and middle at the shadow lifting it up. Suddenly a spike jutted from the shadow covered in blood followed by a gurgled scream. She released her control and the shadow started spurting blood and it soon reveals Hentarr's body.

That actually went easier than she thought it would-

" _..distract…ed…ed"_

Air's eyes widened as Hentarr rushed up faster than she could react and slit her throat _"success..cess"_

Just before she fell Air grabbed his arm and the body armor she wore under her cloak expanded into spikes. She then finished it with by running a dagger through his throat for payback and to make sure he was dead she began draining him only to realize she wasn't getting as much from him as she should have.

It was the same amount she would get from an inanimate object or…a…corpse. Eventually Hentarr shriveled up and die or rather disappeared like ashes in the wind. Air collapsed onto her knees clutching her now healed throat. It may be hard to kill her now but she isn't a fan of having her throat cut.

It's the closest she would come to dying and she hated it.

\

Najenda had never felt such hatred for a Teigu since Esdese _'if Akame doesn't kill her_ _ **I will**_ _'_ was her thought as she dodged another whip attack from Rokgough.

 _His_ moves she could counter and the fight would've ended if it weren't for that bald man with the shield. Even with part of his head cracked open and his brains spilling out he's still moving as if nothing happen.

' _That accursed Teigu'_ she gritted her teeth and dodged another whip attack.

Woll appeared behind her kicked her but as she went down she used the robotic arm to lash out at him. Woll blocked with his shield but was still sent flying from the force. Unfortunately she could protect herself from a whip attack to the head.

Najenda fell to the ground disoriented _'dammit, if it weren't for my injuries this battle would've been over'_

Before Rokgough could finish it, a spear made out of thread impaled him through the chest.

"hey asshole" a voice shouted and Najenda looked up to see a really pissed off Rabac who snarled at the corpse doll "what the hell do you thing you're doing.." he wrapped the threads around Rokgough "to Miss Najenda!" with a grunt he pulled his hands apart and the corpse doll became corpse paste.

Najenda gaped at Rabac for a moment with the slightest of pink on her cheeks before schooling her features as he approached.

"Miss Najenda!"

"I'm fine"

"No you're bleeding"

She felt the side of head and felt blood "it's not as bad as it looks" she looked around "where's the other one?"

\

Woll pushed himself up, his glasses forgotten as he prepared to get back into the fray when a voice spoke up "daddy?"

The corpse turned around to see a small girl bearing a slight resemblance to him. Almost immediately his impassive expression melted away to confusion and…something else.

"Daddy I'm scared" the little girl sniffled.

Woll reached out to her as she approached but before he could touch her she reached out sank a needle in the middle of his forehead and he drops soon after. There was a puff of smoke around the child revealing Chelsea in a crouched position. The redhead stood and patted her skirt looking down at the unmoving corpse with a bit of sympathy.

She didn't know about a Teigu like this and it was only a coincidence she actually knew Woll. He was a famous with ties to the Revolutionary Army. He took a mission to be a bodyguard and ended up dying and leaving his wife and daughter.

She shook her head and popped in a lollipop surveying the battlefield "looks like boss is done, now all that's left is…"

\

' _I hate guns'_

That was the one thing Sayo was sure of in this battle so far. It just wasn't fair how this chick had the advantage of apparently never being able to run out of ammo. Meanwhile she'd been dodging for most of the fight considering she wouldn't let her get close to cut her head off.

' _Okay calm down Sayo you still have your bow, all you need is some arrows and you can nail this bitch'_

Yes bitch, she had been shooting at her with that ever present smirk and it was _really_ starting to piss her off. She spotted an arrow and dove towards it, she heard a few shots go off but at this point using spectator to predict their trajectory was child's play. Sayo dodged with ease and took up the arrow before doing the same with a next one.

"That all you got?" she said in a bored tone "I could dodge your bullets in my sleep"

To her shock/amusement the girl's smirk faded to a frown and she charged _'perfect'_ Sayo took out her daggers and charged as well.

Both women started engaging in close quarters combat though the gunslinger popped a few shots every now and then. Sayo dodged and tried to slash at her but was either blocked or dodged. From the sidelines it looked as though they were engaged in a deadly dance of blade vs guns.

This continued until Sayo dropped for a leg sweep. The girl jumps high in the air and does an upside down corkscrew while firing. Sayo threw her first dagger then used her free hand to grab her bow then threw her second dagger and grabbed both arrows from her quiver.

The girl shot both daggers out the air, obscuring her vision for two seconds but it was enough. Once her vision cleared the last thing she saw was Sayo firing two arrows. The arrows hit both of eyes before she even landed resulting in her body dropping with two arrows sticking out of her eye socket.

Sayo collapsed to her knees, Spectator appeared above her forehead and she rubbed her eyes.

"That was close" she muttered and looked up before her jaw dropped "oh you have got to be kidding me" she groaned.

The previously thought dead body of Doya started standing albeit slowly and started searching for her guns which she dropped when the arrow hit.

Sayo gave a frustrated grunt before standing up she stomped over to Doya with an irritated look, picked up one of her guns and shot her point blank in the head. Sayo didn't stop and unloaded about seven more shots into her face

*Bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang*

….*bang*….*bang*

*Twitch* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang*

"Uh" a voice coughed awkwardly behind her and she turned to see Rabac, Air and Najenda "I think she's dead Sayo" the boy spoke gesturing to the girl whose face wouldn't be recognized.

"….I know" *bang*

"Then why are you still shooting her?" Air asked.

*Bang* "stress relief" *bang*

"Well cut it out we need to help the others" Najenda spoke heading off.

"Alright boss"…. *bang*

Sayo then headed off while picking up the other pistol "why did you take those?" Rabac asked running beside her.

"Trophies" she grunted.

"Okay~" he said distancing himself, he didn't know why she was s pissed but if he learned anything from being acquainted with Mein it's that you don't get near a woman when she's pissed.

Before he could think more on it there was a flash of light followed by

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

\

Both sisters stood before each other panting, Akame's body was littered with cuts and bruises and part of her uniform was scorched. Kurome on the other hand didn't have a scratch on her but her stamina was definitely being put to the test. In fact if she and Natalia hadn't wore he sister down before they clashed and her strength hadn't returned then she would have been cut a long time ago.

She gritted her teeth _'they killed all of them. Natala and Destaghoul are the only ones left'_

And she could bet they were on their way-

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

\

Leone flips back from the extended blade _'this guy's good'_ she grinned.

This guy, whoever he is was not only faster and stronger than she thought but whatever she had over him in speed strength and ferocity he made up for it in skill. If she were to compare then this guy was almost as good as Akame. Right now they were at a bit of a stalemate since they were both tenacious and could shrug off most damage.

Oh yes she was enjoying herself very much. Now the only thing that could make this any better was if this guy could talk.

' _I wonder how Akame's doing'_

Natala attacked and Leone was now on the defensive, her instincts kept her dodging by a hairs breath until he extended the lance ans she crouched low on all fours to dodge it. She smirked and went in for another lethal strike but before she could

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

The explosion managed to sweep her and Natala off their feet.

\

Ieyasu fell to one knee, Incursio dissipated "d-damn it"

Wave stood before him, Grand Chariot looked worse for wear with cracks all along the armor but he was still standing.

"I win" but it was a pyrrhic victory, he may have won the battle but he won't be able to assist the others.

Grand Chariot dissipated soon afterwards and Wave hunched over _'And the way how this guy talked, Bulat must have been even stronger before he died'_

Wave thought he wouldn't have had this much of a problem because he had a superior Teigu, what a joke. This guy must have gotten Incursio recently and he put up this much of a fight compared to him who had Grand Chariot for two years. It just goes to show that the Teigu doesn't make the man.

"You know…*pant* I don't get *pant* it" Ieyasu spoke gaining Wave's attention.

"Get what *pant *pant*"

He took a deep breath "how the hell did a guy like you ended working under the capital?"

"Unlike you, I serve my country. I'm a soldier"

Ieyasu takes a long look at him before narrowing his eyes "you're not from the capital are you?"

Wave raised an eyebrow "no, I was raised in fishing village where I joined the navy"

Ieyasu chuckled "that explains a lot"

"Like what?"

"Like why you smell like fish" he pinched his nose at this.

"OH COME ON!" he sniffed his shirt "I took like three showers before coming here, how can I still smell like fish!?"

"Tomato Juice"

Wave paused "what"

"Whenever I come from fishing, the village elder always said wash ourselves with tomato juice to get rid of the smell."

The former sailor blinked "tomato juice, that works?"

Ieyasu nodded now leaning against a tree trunk "washes the smell right out"

Wave looked at his 'enemy' "you're not from the capital either?"

"Nope I'm just a country bumpkin who wants to earn enough money to send to his village"

"You…then why did you join Night Raid? If you wanted money then you could've joined the army!" Wave shouted incredulously.

Hell this guy could have been on the Jaegers, that was a testament to his skill. There's not many people from the country who are skilled like this guy.

His thoughts were interrupted as Ieyasu started laughing before bracing to his feet "why did you think I came to the Capital in the first place? You don't just…" he straightened his posture "you don't just _decide_ to become an assassin so easily. No something happened that helped me make a decision"

When he didn't continue Wave spoke "what happened?" he was really curious now since as far as he could tell this guy wanted to join the empire, travelled from the country for it then joined Night Raid, he was right you just don't make that decision without something happening.

"Our first day here and I got swindled out of all our money"

He left out the parts where it was his fault and that the person who tricked him is a part of night Raid but that's behind the point.

"We got invited to stay overnight at a oil merchants house. Only it was a trap, they lure people like me who are from the country so they can torture them to death."

Wave's face pales "that.."

"What don't believe me? Well that's fine, you're so loyal to the empire you wouldn't even be able to see what was really going on unless you were looking for it"

Wave shakes his head "that doesn't excuse what you did, killing innocent people!"

Ieyasu laughs at him "now I know you're definitely not from the capital because you have no idea what you're talking about. How about taking a real good look at everything around you huh? Cause I'm pretty sure those do-called innocent people don't do _that_ much of a good job of hiding just how corrupted, twisted and evil they are!"

"You must think I'm stupid don't you" Wave replied darkly "I've read the data on you guys, you who indiscriminately carry out your assassinations are villains eating away at the peace and security of the capital. You're very existence is something that can't be forgiven."

Ieyasu looked long and hard at him before he spoke in an uncharacteristically cold voice "you know someone once told me that people would go out of their way to protect the one single thing they have…their _ignorance_ " he pulled out a white cloth from his pocket and tied it around his head "I'll tell you something else, if you think spitting that bullshit is going to make me give myself up you're even dumber than you sound because the only way you're taking me is if you're bold enough to fight me like a fucking man!"

Instead of drawing the Incursio blade he instead pulled out his twin swords. Despite the fact that he looked more haggard and worn than Wave the amount of fighting spirit he exudes is enough to make Wave's resolve falter but only for a moment.

"You want to do this the hard way? Fine!" Wave gets in a stance with the Grand Chariot blade Before they could charge each other though

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

The night sky lit and an explosion the likes of which they've never seen happen causing both of their heads to whirl around before they had to cover their face due to the blowback.

Wave gaped "what the hell is thaAGH!

Ieyasu's head turned back just in time to see Wave's unconscious body drop and for a moment he just stared "I didn't see that coming"

\

The battle between Esdese and Tatsumi had long since left the ice dome Esdese had made. It was made so that Tatsumi wouldn't run away from her. Ironically and impossibly Esdese found herself being on the defensive. She had been on the defensive ever since Tatsumi decided to unleash the full power of his 'Teigu.'

She was really starting to question if what Tatsumi has is truly a Teigu. Her unease doesn't stem from the myriad of abilities he seems to wield but of the pressure which he exhibits when using it. She had been trying to figure a way to counter attack for a while now but so far, for every machination, every movement, every attack she did Tatsumi has a counter..actually more than one counter.

Perhaps the most alarming or annoying thing in which she still can't figure out is the fact that she still hasn't sense any form of bloodlust from him. Even now as he makes his assault with those eerie black flames which melted her ice faster than she could reform them, covering his hand.

Esdese's senses flared and her head whipped to the side just time to see him jump from another shadow. She automatically makes a barrier which he burns through like paper, that was fine it bought her enough time to jump back and encase her fist in ice. Just in time as Tatsumi shot out like a bullet which was only slightly slower to Esdese.

" _ **FIST OF THE DARKNESS FLAME"**_

Tatsumi's fists become a blur as does Esdese's as they trade blows. Eventually Tatsumi's attack begins to burn through her ice, faster than she could reform it and forces her to retreat. As Esdese tries to gain some distance Tatsumi pursues and they never once stopped trading blows. Eventually they jumped off a cliff yet still they never stopped.

Tatsumi buried one of his flaming fists in Esdese's stomach and she in turn punched him across the face. Unfortunately she knew he received less damage than she did as a black shadow covered where she hit. The ice on her fist cracked on impact and she felt resistance but the force still sends him careening away.

Esdese landed feet first, in addition to the numerous cuts over her body she had lost her boots or more accurately they were burned off. That article of clothes wasn't the only one burned, her general's uniform sported several scorch marks and holes including the latest one which exposed her toned stomach. In essence she was scantily dressed though just enough not to be obscene. She also had soot marks over her pale skin as evidence of where Tatsumi had hit her.

Tatsumi landed as well, his coat was forgotten leaving him wearing blue pants and a black sleeveless shirt. His exposed skin was covered in shadow armor and aside from his disheveled clothes he didn't look harmed, more tired than hurt which wasn't saying much compared to Esdese.

 ***BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM***

Their heads turned towards the source of the blast, they were too far away to feel the effects but the fact that they could see it says how much power was behind it. Both leaders were a bit worried though they didn't show. None of them knew what was happening, Esdese for obvious reasons and Tatsumi because he had to recall Crow to use his full power.

' _That can't be good'_ he thought.

" **Esdese"** his warped voice caught her attention **"I think it's time we ended this"** he went into a wide stance.

Esdese spat out blood "you are right it is" she smiled "thank you Tatsumi, this has been a glorious battle, the most challenging I've ever had" she goes into a stance.

There was a pause as both of them build up their final attack. A moment later they thrust their hands forward.

" _ICE DURAGON!"_

" **DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!"**

Two dragons one made of pure iridescent ice and the other made of a flaming shadow converge on each other. a large chunk of the earth was blown away creating an ever expanding crater that spread even past the two wielders. After a moment what started out as dragons ended up being identical to beams of ice and shadow as they poured more power into their respective attacks.

Esdese gritted her teeth, the blood of the dangerbeast in her veins strained to hold onto the form, she pushed it even farther, he nose started bleeding, her vision became bleary.

' _I don't care what happens after'_ she mentally screamed _'I have to win, I won't lose him, not after I've waited so long to find him!'_

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

With a scream the ice pushed further down the shadow.

Tatsumi gritted his teeth and silently commending her tenacity before allowing his arm to be pushed back a bit and with a mighty yell of his own forced his hand forward

" **GGGGRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH"**

Like a tsunami, the shadow overlapped the ice _'no'_ she managed a gasp before she shadow enveloped her.

Instead of a searing heat she was expecting Esdese found herself being violently pushed by the shadow. A moment later she was slammed into the side of a mountain. It didn't stop there, the shadow formed into a clawed hand and wrapped around her body. Esdese was yanked forward to Tatsumi who reared his fist back.

It was obvious what was about to happen but Esdese could do nothing. She had drained her power on the last attack so she could only watch as Tatsumi came closer until

*CRACK*

His ink black fist connected with the left side of her fist destroying her cheekbone and sending her smashing back into the rock where her body remained plastered to the wall in an impression made by the impact. She watched through her good eye as Tatsumi strode towards her yet she couldn't move, she was tired and close to being losing consciousness.

Tatsumi stopped a few feet away from her now in his normal appearance "Ta..t..su…mi…I-"

"You lost" he said simply and at that Esdese's consciousness gave way and her body dropped to the ground face first with her hands spread at her side. One final thought left her lips in a barely audible whisper

"I… love you"

The Empire's strongest had been defeated.

 _To Be Continued_

 **Author's Notes: I have to admit it was agonizing writing this chapter and in truth it was supposed to be longer but you know what, I decided to put the direct aftermath in the next chapter. I did it because I just essentially wrote a 16,000 word fight sequence. That's right 16,000 words. Hey I promised epic and honestly I think this may have been the first story to actually have an all out war between Night Raid and Jaegers.**

 **Now I know, I know it's not perfect and I definitely didn't give all the characters equal amounts of screen time but there is just so much I could do. I mean obviously I skimmed Ieyasu's fight with Wave but I'm sure you can use your imagination, long story short Wave's experience with Grand Chariot trumps Ieyasu's own with Incursio. Say what you want but Wave is strong and you can't fit a few weeks of training to cover years.**

 **Also about the number of deaths, call me a softie if you want but I don't like the whole doom and gloom of the series so you might not see shocking deaths. Of course I had to kill Stylish, he's an asshole. I didn't kill Seryu because well I'm one of those guys who see potential for the future development of her character.**

 **Bor's Teigu Rubicante from what I understand is actually the gun that shoots the flames and not the tank. I know right, I read the manga where he detonates the tank, he says that its his 'trump card' but it was a lie. His trump card is 'magma drive' where he shoots projectile balls of fire. So I'm thinking all he has to do is hook up the gun to another gas tank and he'll be good to go again.**

 **Now I'll be commenting on the fights**

 **Now for the highlight of this chapter, Tatsumi vs. Esdese. It is by far the one I enjoyed writing the most. I think I wrote at one point that there are some finer details to go over who would win. I explained it here, while Esdese is a better hand-to-hand fighter/swordswoman Tatsumi's mastery of darkslayer trumps that and her own Teigu. There's a reason for that and it will be explained…someday.**

 **As for the fight itself, I don't think I've read a story that** _ **really**_ **showed Esdese in a true fight against someone on her level. Either it's that she's too strong, too weak or it's just implied that person's version of Tatsumi (or some OC) is just as strong as her but you never actually see her fight. Here I try to imagine how she'd go about doing that and if you think its brutal just remember she was raised by a tribe of hunters and she herself is a savage.**

 **I imagine when all the chips are down Esdese would use her teeth to rip someone's throat out to kill them.**

 **Well I could go on but if you want to ask any questions go ahead and I would appreciate if you ask said questions via a PM.**

 **But wait, it isn't over just yet! Next chapter, we see the aftermath of the explosion and the subsequent fallout from the battle.**


	9. Kill The Jaegers Part 3

**Chapter 9: Kill The Jaegers Part 3**

Lavender orbs blink open slowly, she tried to move but pain shot through her body like a bolt of electricity. All she could do is blink blearily as her vision came into focus. Through cracked spectacles she came face to face with a familiar face

"Me..in?" she reached her hand to her face, the sniper stirred and her eyes slowly opened "th..ank…heav..ens" was all she said before something else caught her attention and she pulled herself on her elbows.

Schere's face was the first thing she saw "Schere. *cough* *cough* *cough* wha-"

Her voice trailed when she saw her friend wasn't paying attention to her. Her eyes trailed to the front where they widened.

"l-Luna?"

The aforementioned girl stood with parts of her clothes burned away, her burns and cuts were already being healed albeit at a snail's pace. She stood before them with her back turned and hands spread outward in an attempt to protect them. What was left of a shadow barrier was before her, it jiggled before collapsing like a puddle of water. Luna's arms dropped to her side before she dropped to her knees.

As her shadow slunk in place her midnight black eyes turned to their azure color she collapsed face first to the ground. Her last thoughts before she went unconscious were of her friend who was even closer to the center of the blast.

\

*GAAASP*

Fal coughed up dirt as she found her consciousness returning "w-wha…?"

Fal didn't know what happened, her most recent memories were hazy at bests but what she did remember was looking at… _something_ before white flooded her vision. Her entire body hurt but she could feel a numbing sensation coming over. She didn't get tired but right now it was _very_ hard to move.

From what she could see though, she was in some kind of crater..wait _'a bomb!'_

Of course it was a bomb and taking a look around the immediate area it was a big one and she was right in the middle when it went off. It was a miracle she survived with all her limbs in attached.

Were her limbs still intact?

Fal looked down at her legs and groaned, they were broken…again.

' _Damn it, why is it always the f*cking legs'_ she's definitely not getting up any time soon, her head fell back to look at the sky. She could only hope everyone else made it.

\

"Is everyone alright!?" Air yelled.

Right now she was behind the thickest, largest shield which encompassed all of them. On the ground Rabac, Sayo, Najenda, that red haired girl with the headphones and the man with bullhorns stirred.

"Oh yeah" Rabac muttered dusting himself off "just peachy"

Sayo coughed a few times "what was that about?"

"One of them must have had a bomb" Najenda explained.

"Are you alright Najenda" Susanoo asked lending her his hand.

"I'm fine Susanoo, wait why are you here?"

"While I was fighting the dangerbeast I saw the blast and retreated to shield you"

Najenda's head swerved around "then what happened to-"

"They're gone boss" a voice called out.

Everyone turned to see Leone strolling forward looking worse for wear while carrying Akame.

"Kurome used the explosion as a means to retreat and she called off her puppets as well" the crimson eyed assassin reported.

"Tch" Najenda scowled "they're probably going to regroup with Esdese"

"Speaking of which" Rabac spoke "I haven't seen her since this started, you'd think she'd be here considering"

"That's because she's still fighting Tatsumi" Najenda informed before looking over the partially destroyed dome of ice "over there"

Leone's ears twitched "you think they're still going at it boss?"

"We have to help him" Sayo suggested.

"Are you nuts!? We're in no condition to fight that she-demon."

"Well what about him!?" she pointed at Susanoo "he looks completely fine to me!"

"What do we do boss?" Akame questioned and everyone's attention turned to Najenda.

That's a good question, while it would be very beneficial to send aid to Tatsumi who had managed to keep Esdese from the battle, they still hadn't accounted for everyone else. Schere, Mein and Ieyasu were still M.I.A.

"Master's life isn't in any danger."

And now everyone's attention turned to the youngest girl there "what do you mean?" Najenda queried.

Air smiled "I mean master Tatsumi doesn't need any help" her gaze turned to where she suspects the fight to be held "master won the fight."

Najenda, Rabac, Akame and Leone's eyes widened in disbelief but Najenda was the first to school her features "how do you know this?"

"We have a link with him" she informed "Master explained that basically we can tell what the others are feeling and get an impression of what they are going through."

"And what's he going through now?"

Air makes a face of concentration "he's….resting. he used a lot of his power to bring her down but he'll be alright" she looked in his direction "I should go to him" she said out of concern for him.

"Go" Najenda said.

If he did indeed defeat Esdese or better yet kill her then it will be a great victory that cripples the empire greatly.

"Wait what about the others?" Leone queried "can you sense your friends, they were with Mein and Schere."

Air paused and concentrates again "they're unconscious" she spoke "but I think Luna protected Mein and Schere from the blast" she remembered barely hearing them from Luna's perspective.

"Then we'll need find the others and regroup before capital reinforcements arrive" Najenda spoke.

Air nodded and raced towards her master, she will entrust Fal and Luna to Night Raid, the former of whom she was more concerned about. Her mind was weird, disjointed and Fal generally seemed _not_ herself.

\

"I didn't see that coming."

Standing behind Wave's unconscious body Run smiled lightly at him "well if it makes you feel any better neither did I."

"Why?"

"Despite the fact that we are on opposing teams we have the same goal in the long run."

"You want to kill the Prime Minister?"

Run chuckles "no I want to change this country, weed out the corruption. However I will do so on the inside."

Ieyasu appraises the man before him "I guess you telling me this means you want to co-operate with Night Raid."

Run's smile lessens "yes however I will contact you not the other way around."

Ieyasu nodded "okay, what about him?"

"Hmm" Run looks at his fallen comrade "you are right Wave's heart is in the right place but he is so far ignorant of the true face of the capital. Given time he might be won over to our cause."

At the least he would withdraw altogether, either way works best for Run though he would prefer the former option.

"In the meantime he was ambushed from behind by a member of Night Raid while he was distracted. I saved him before he could be killed and managed to drive them off but was injured in the process" he practically outlined the alibi.

Ieyasu smiled ruefully _'this guy…'_

He then cracked his knuckles "better get ready cause this will hurt."

Run sighed sadly "naturally."

The things he does for peace.

\

Kurome had been feeling the side effects of the drug for a while now, even during the fight with her sister, it was a miracle she didn't get cut by Murasame. Right now she was being carried by Natala, she didn't know who set that bomb off but it ended up being beneficial. It was her complete loss despite her overwhelming advantage at the start.

Then again she never accounted for her puppets to lose and she definitely didn't account for Night Raid's reinforcements to be so strong. More specifically the man with the bull horns, she saw snippets of his fight with Destaghoul and saw him trade blows with it, even when it managed to rip parts of his body off.

It regenerated clothes and all. There can only be one explanation for that, biological Teigu.

"To think Night Raid had something like that" she muttered.

Both her and Natala heard something coming from the bushes and the corpse doll set her down and readied his lance. Kurome also got ready to draw her sword but once they saw who it was Kurome's expression shifted to relief.

"Run! Wave!"

The former teacher who now sported a black eye and bloody nose smiled tiredly "its good to see you made it Kurome" he greeted.

"What happened?"

"One of those girls had a Teigu with a similar ability to Mastena" he frowned "no it was something different yet similar to that boy's power over shadows. She damaged my Teigu and left me."

Kurome couldn't believe it "she just left you?"

The man managed a shrug "she knew I wouldn't be of much assistance without Mastena and her friends were in danger."

That made sense to Kurome, she growled, if it wasn't for her then she wouldn't have had to retreat. Kurome looked to Wave's unconscious form.

"What happened to Wave?"

"I found him unconscious with two Night Raid members about to finish him. I managed to rescue him. My Teigu isn't _completely_ destroyed" he gestured to the unbroken disk.

Kurome sighed in relief and looked at Wave before raising her hand *SLAP*

"Wake up."

*SLAP*

"Gah!"

*SLAP*

"Ow, I'm up, I' up!"

….

*SLAP*

"Ow what was _that_ fo-!?"

Kurome had her hand over his mouth "be quiet" she whispered.

Wave nodded and she took her hand off. Wave rubbed his stinging cheeks and got a proper look around "ugh where am I? How did I get here?"

"Run found you unconscious with two Night Raid Members about to finish you off."

"What!?" its then that he felt a sting coming from his neck "dammit they must've knocked me out!"

He looked to Run "I managed to save you, at a price" he didn't need to say elaborate since he looked like he was in the fight of his life. It was weird seeing Run injured like this.

"What about the others?" he stood on shaky legs.

Kurome stood with Natala's help. She shook her head "I haven't seen Bols, Seryu or Dr. Stylish."

"And Captain Esdese?"

"I believe she's still fighting Tatsumi" Run informed gazing out in the distance.

The others looked in the same direction to see a partial dome made of ice "I think we should find her and regroup" he continued.

Both Jaeger members nodded and headed in that direction.

\

"W-we made it" a tired and injured Bols exhaled.

Beside him Seryu didn't speak, too riddled with anger, grief and something else…something that no defender of justice should ever feel in the face of evil.

Fear.

Not for herself but for her partner. Koro laid in her arms, looking worse for wear but still alive. She almost lost him to that…that thing and it was all her fault. She was so blinded by anger and grief at seeing Dr. Stylish killed she sent him after that girl without thinking. He almost paid the ultimate price for her shortsightedness.

She looked at her fellow Jaeger member _'if it wasn't for Bol's then Koro would've…"_

Bols seemed to catch on to her staring "is everything alright Seryu?"

His voice was laced with concern, concern she'd never heard from anyone before. It wasn't gruff like Ogre and even though Dr. Stylish cared Bols sounded more….sincere but that couldn't be right.

How could Bols be more sincere than Dr. Stylish? He's the one who gave her all these enhancements to help combat the evils of the Empire brought on by evil doers like Night Raid, like the scum who killed her father, Ogre and Dr. Sty-Stylish.

But even then she was unable to protect him from being _killed_.

"Seryu!" she was numbly aware of Bols shaking her.

She looked onto the masked man and even though she couldn't see his face she could see the concern. In fact it reminded her of someone…someone a long time ago. Suddenly Bols transformed into a smaller, less muscular yet rugged man with a brown beard and short hair.

" _Seryu" the man questioned in a concerned tone._

" _I'm alright…papa."_

The memory caused her to choke on a sob before almost throwing herself on Bols who was so bewildered he froze in shock. A moment later Seryu began sobbing uncontrollably on his chest. He'd never thought he would ever see this side of Seryu before. To him she had always seemed like a good, loyal officer, maybe a little too enthusiastic but a good girl.

But right now he acknowledged his mistake. Seryu wasn't a soldier, soldiers don't cry like this, in this moment she was just a scared little girl. In fact this situation reminded him of a time with his own daughter. He did to Seryu what he did to his daughter then- Rubicante was dropped in favor of holding his fellow teammate.

Bols whispered soothing words which only seemed to cause her to sob even more.

"I couldn't protect them. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" she kept repeating.

Eventually she sank to her knees and Bols joined her silently. It didn't matter they were still in enemy territory, his parental instincts was in full control here.

\

From behind the trees Ieyasu watched the scene between the two Jaeger members. He had two throwing knives poised for a simultaneous silent assassination but after witnessing that he hesitated. Maybe it was because he had the pleasure of beating up that smug pretty boy or maybe it's because he was a softie but Ieyasu decided not to kill them.

' _Just this once'_ he swore to himself _'just this once'_ he silently slipped away to go in the direction they were coming from.

He had just wasted the opportunity to finish off two enemies who were weakened and distracted. He bit back a chortle, he wondered what the others would think…on second thought no he didn't wonder because this entire thing never happened. Besides he doubted he had enough strength to bury the dagger in deep. Wasn't the chick some kind of cyborg according to Mein?

Yeah it was perfectly reasonable to assume he wouldn't be able to finish them.

It only took him a few more minutes to reach ground zero or the giant crater left by whatever caused the explosion. Somehow Ieyasu very much believes this was caused by the guy wearing the mask. His tank was missing although he kept the gun, which must've been the Teigu.

' _Uh, thought it included the tank'_ he mused before something caught his attention.

Upon closer inspection it was a person! Ieyasu picked up the pace, the body was in the center of the crater. He slid down the slightly rocky slope and into a roll before stopping on his knee. Now that he was close he got a better look and saw a bit of yellow.

"Fal!" he ran over to her and grimaced at the scorch marks covering her body and considering she was this close to center of the blast.

Her eye cracked open "u-uuugh" she groaned weakly.

"Oh thank god" he says in relief.

Fal looks at him "I-Ieyasu?"

"Yeah" he looks over her figure "how did you even survive?"

"Eh, shadow armor plus" she clears her throat "we're just hard to kill now. Wounds heal."

Ieyasu quirked an eyebrow, she did mention having her legs broken again then were subsequently snapped back in place. Broken bones were one thing, but surviving a point blank explosion covering this much area? Ieyasu shakes his head- they really were heard to kill.

He hoped that applies to Tatsumi _'oh who am I kidding he'll wipe the floor with that crazy ice bitch'_ he smiled before redirecting his attention to Fal.

"Can you move?"

"I dunno" her expression became one of concentration "hold on" slowly she sat up "I don't really get tired but.."

"Your body doesn't agree" he finished.

"Yeah, but I'm healing though" she reaffirmed.

Ieyasu nodded he could actually see some of the blisters lessening "anyway you can speed that up?"

Fal shook her head "not unless you've got something I can absorb."

"Then that's a no" he lifted her in her arms "I'll have to carry you then."

Fal had the decency to blush a little, if she wasn't bound to Tatsumi then she might have fallen for him. As it stands she just had to make a joke.

"Be gentle" she said in the most suggestive flirtatious tone.

Ieyasu looked at her for a moment and saw a mini Leone _'oh my god there's two of them now.'_

\

Susanoo and Leone were the only ones still fit enough to go ahead with finding the others. They immediately found Mein, Schere and Luna unconscious. Ieyasu was heading in their direction carrying Fal.

"Good to see you alive" Leone spoke "how'd your fight go?"

Ieyasu paused "later, how are they?"

"They're unconscious but alive" Susanoo answered.

"Who's he?" Ieyasu questioned looking over the taller man's appearance.

"New recruit."

Susanoo looked at the man "I am Najenda's biological Teigu, Susanoo" he introduced himself.

"Okay then" Ieyasu didn't know what to make of that except…damn.

"I think I can move by myself now" Fal said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah" she nodded and Ieyasu put her down slowly.

Fal wobbled a bit but eventually straighten up and head towards her friend "come on Luna wake up" she smacks her cheeks a little.

Luna's hand caught Fal's latest attempt and cerulean eyes opened to glare at her blonde friend. Once Fal laughed nervously she decided her ire was understood and let go before sitting up slowly.

"You shouldn't be moving" Susanoo spoke.

Luna looked to him and a flash of confusion which turned to curiosity came across her features upon seeing his bull horns.

"He's a biological Teigu" Fal answered her question.

"My name is Susanoo."

"…Luna" she spoke giving him a once over.

"You can check him out later" Leone spoke hoisting Mein over her shoulder with Pumpkin in her free hand "Susanoo, get Schere and Extasy we have to go now."

"And we have to find master" Fal said to Luna.

The bluenette nodded before raising her hood "yes, let us go."

"The Jaegers are probably still in the forest" Ieyasu warned.

"They'll make a good snack" Luna coldly commented as her shadow wobbled. She did not take kindly to almost being blown up.

Fal looked at her friend. Damn she was really pissed. Fal didn't think she had ever seen Luna that pissed before.

"What she said" she eventually spoke.

"I should go with you" Ieyasu volunteered.

Luna shook her head "no, master wasn't joking when he said he was leaving."

"Yeah" Fal agreed "he's probably waiting on us and we're going different ways."

Ieyasu gritted his teeth, as much as he really wanted to at least see his friend off he conceded with a nod.

"Tell him good luck."

Both girls nodded and both parties went their separate ways. Ieyasu could only lament on his friend's departure without a proper farewell. He could still remember how all _this_ started.

\

 **Ten Months Ago…**

" _WHAT!?" Ieyasu shouted at the taller man who stood before him._

 _Sinclair sighed as if he knew this was going to happen "it's as I've said before, Tatsumi will be taking over as your teacher from now on."_

" _Why!?"_

" _Because" he approached the shorter boy "I don't have anything left to teach you and" he looked at Tatsumi "I believe Tatsumi can give you knowledge and training I cannot. Youth is a wonderful thing after all" he chuckled._

 _Ieyasu went to argue more but Sayo stopped him "thank you for your training Master Sinclair" she said respectively then elbowed Ieyasu._

" _Urgh, yeah thanks yah old geezer" he smirked._

 _Sinclair grumbled something about not being that old before coughing in his fist "so I'll leave you both in Tatsumi's hands."_

 _Ieyasu eyed the boy before him "how old are you?" the question came from Sayo and was laced with curiosity._

 _Tatsumi opened his mouth then paused as he seemed to think over his response "what year is it?"_

" _It's 1xxx" Sinclair responded._

" _I'm seventeen years old" was his response, he then nodded at his answer._

" _Why do wear that mask over your face?" Ieyasu managed to say, funny it didn't look like a mask._

" _It's not a mask" scratch that last thought "I like to cover my eyes since I'm blind."_

" _You're blind!"_

" _Yes" he sighed "is that a problem?"_

 _Sayo flinched at his tone but Ieyasu was even more furious "of course it's a problem!" he shouted "how are we supposed to learn anything from someone who's blind!?"_

" _He didn't need his sight to beat me" Sinclair defended him._

 _Ieyasu's mouth dropped but before he could retort Tatsumi spoke "I didn't need to see to know that when you were in danger to save you" he noted._

" _That's not the point!" Ieyasu dismissed "how are you supposed to teach us techniques when you can't see us?"_

 _Tatsumi didn't speak instead he turned to Sinclair "he's not teaching you any techniques" he sighed._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _What he means is that instead of teaching you sword play I'm going to help you get better in the skills you already have."_

" _Are you saying that we're weak?" Ieyasu felt insulted._

" _Yes" was his answer._

 _Ieyasu was immediately in his face "yeah, how about we fight and find out!"_

 _Sinclair face palmed "Ieyasu you don't know what you're doing."_

" _Wrong I know exactly what I'm doing old man!" he snapped then turned to Tatsumi "well?"_

"… _fine" he spoke before taking a few steps back._

 _Sayo and Sinclair immediately went to the sidelines, it was futile trying to stop Ieyasu, it seems that being raised in the village has made Ieyasu too big for his britches, Sinclair noted. Of course he'd taught them about judging their opponents before engaging but they have still yet to learn how to do that with everyone and not just people they have to fight._

 _Ieyasu also stepped back taking out his axe but noticed "where's your weapon?"_

 _Tatsumi raised his hand to see "a knife?" he snarled, he'd seen him use short swords against the danger beasts when they met "you can't be serious!?"_

 _Tatsumi didn't say anything_

" _What, I thought you couldn't see, not talk!"_

' _Taunting isn't going to work' Sinclair thought._

 _Ieyasu saw no reaction from his attempts at riling him up, he wouldn't admit but he was a little nervous, so far Tatsumi didn't even shift into a stance. He would have to act soon or-!_

" _Whoa" Ieyasu hastily brought the blunt side of his axe up to block an incoming projectile._

 _The knife bounced off the weapon, it was so fast that he almost didn't see it and it only thanks to his practice with Sayo that he could react._

 _Suddenly Ieyasu's world shifted "huh?" was the only thing he managed to say before his back met the ground, he felt a pressure on his axe then something rested at his throat._

 _Looking up he saw a pure obsidian blade held by Tatsumi "there is always someone stronger than you out there, you just met one" he spoke before backing away._

" _Attack me again" he told him, he turned to Sayo "you too, we're starting practice now."_

 _While Sayo hesitantly drew her arrow and aimed Ieyasu didn't need any more preparation and charged at him._

\

" _I love you"_

Tatsumi pondered Esdese's last words as he sat under the glow of the moonlight. Esdese lay where she had for the past ten minutes, a few feet away from him. She was hands down the most powerful person he had ever fought. His thoughts drifted back to Akame's declaration of using Murasame to cut her.

' _How will you cut her Akame?'_ he thought.

She was a monster of a woman and deserved to die a slow painful death at the number of lives she had willingly taken, with joy at that. Tatsumi was compelled to kill her right now and the only reason why he hadn't was because of those three words.

Back to the matter at hand, all Tatsumi could ask was "why?"

As a blind nomad Tatsumi had been exposed to love before but to have it felt by or expressed to _him_ was a completely different story. As someone who travels based on his whims his interest was piqued enough for him not to kill Esdese. He was actually interested to know why someone like her would be attracted to him.

He heard her whispered declaration loud and clear as his attention was focused solely on her at the moment she said it. Unlike that insane prattling she had there was no glee, well not the kind she displayed when fighting. In fact it was subdued and it sounded as if she was accepting a fact rather than stating something.

He would have brushed it off as her being a battle freak but then he realized she had never actually said she loved him. Yes she said he was 'worthy' of standing at her side as her equal and lover. He also had enough of her compliments about his fighting prowess to last a lifetime but she never indicated she liked him to that degree.

Why she would admit that after he had so thoroughly beaten her half to death was another thing. Why she did it after that he had no idea. It didn't make sense no matter how much he thought about it.

To coin a phrase from Sinclair _"women are one of life's great mysteries and if you think about it too much you'll get a headache."_

Oh how right he was, Tatsumi was having a migraine on top of the healing head trauma he suffered at the hands of this woman. Still headache or not Tatsumi was curious _why him_? Tatsumi didn't know the conditions for someone to love another but he's sure it involved looking good which he had no idea about.

Now through Crow he understood that Esdese isn't an ugly woman, not that he cared. As for himself..why the hell would he care about something as aesthetic as his appearance when he can't see himself?

He's getting off topic.

He pondered it after a while and decided he will have to hear it from her. The problem was she would be out for a while and his servants, not to mention her team were looking for them. He really wasn't feeling up for it but he would have to heal her enough for her to be awake.

' _I'll get my answers'_ he thought standing up.

Tatsumi then proceeds to the difficult task of warping his shadow around Esdese's form.

"This better be worth it"

It wouldn't be the first time his curiosity led to him doing something…unnecessary

\

Bols and Seryu had continued walking after the latter composed herself. They were both on high alert, always checking their surroundings for either their teammates or enemies. That's when Koro started whining.

"Koro, what's wrong?"

He started fidgeting and gestured to the sky, both Jaegers glanced up to see something fly by, heading straight towards the ice dome. If there was one thing they know for certain it's that it wasn't Run which meant that it was probably one of those girls. And she was headed straight for the captain..or where they thought she was anyway.

With this in mind they increased their pace, Seryu detached her arm to reveal a gun, she had enough ammunition to go. Bols may not be able to use Rubicante without a fuel source but he was still formidable. The scars on his chest were from wrestling dangerbeasts with his bare hands and snapping their necks.

When they reached the partial clearing where the destroyed ice dome was they took a moment to pause. Even now the ice was melting but it was clear that a great battle had been fought here. The fact that Esdese had trouble fighting someone was baffling enough but this…this was just…

That thought never finished as movement caused them to veer to the side, Bols prepared to attack and Seryu stands before him aiming her arm-gun at the bushes. Soon they saw Wave, Run, Kurome and Natala walk through the trees.

"Wave, Run, Kurome!" Seryu exclaimed with as much happiness as one would expect.

While Kurome and Wave get to the pleasantries Run stood behind the scenes surveying the battleground. If he were to be honest this place looked a two dangerbeasts were fighting instead of two people.

"Where's Dr. Stylish?" Wave queried and this got Run's attention.

At this Bols and especially Seryu's expression turned solemn. Wave realized his mistake "oh"

"It was one of those three servants, the blonde one"

Run remembered her and if she's anything like her pink hair counterpart then Stylish didn't stand a chance, not that he cared for Stylish. Run could do without the doctor whether its his attitude, experiments or his *shudder* less than subtle advances. This brings him back to why they were running in the first place.

"We were tracking one of _his_ servants" he interrupted gaining their attention.

"You saw it too?" Bols spoke.

"Yes, she was the one I fought. I feel she is trying to track her master."

"Then we should go" Seryu urged and they all began pursuing where they saw the girl going.

\

Esdese awoke but she didn't immediately open her eyes, it would be foolish to. This didn't feel like the bed in her quarters or war tent. Her memories were hazy but that was only because of the amount of pain her body was in. It was far too much than she was used to lately, not that she couldn't ignore it but it was surprising. What was she doing to be in so much…

' _Tatsumi'_ her eyes snapped open sat up ignoring the pain though she did wince.

"I was wondering how long you were planning on pretending to be asleep" a flat voice said from before her.

Esdese was caught by surprise "T-Tatsumi?"

"Esdese" he replied flatly.

The Empire's strongest looked down to see her body was partially covered in shadow. They weren't binding, in fact she could feel the pain around where they were numbing. Those same shadows receded from her body much to her slight disappointment.

Esdese looked down at herself and frowned, her clothes had seen better days and Tatsumi had done a number on her. Her hand lifted to her cheek, she remembered the punch that shattered her cheekbone. Right now there was a slight swelling, confusion came over her face.

"I partially healed your wounds. Not much, just enough for you to gain consciousness" he informed before his expression turned dark "don't bother trying to attack me. I'm more or less as strong as I was at the start of this fight and I didn't even begin to show you what else I can do."

At this a crow flew to his shoulder and cawed menacingly at her.

Esdese's response was to slowly school her bewildered expression and chuckling before sitting on her knees "even if I had enough strength to successfully attack you, I have already accepted my defeat."

Tatsumi raised his eyebrow and tilted his head slightly "really?"

She smiled pleasantly with her cheeks burning slightly "yes" the smiles drops "although I'm certain I wouldn't be alive."

Esdese wasn't naïve to believe Tatsumi shared her feelings, the reason why she had been so insisting was because she had power over him and he wouldn't be able to resist her once all was said and done. Obviously she had been wrong and with her loss went any hope of 'pursuading' him to her ideology.

She looked at him more closely, he sat loosely with one hand on his propped up knee while the other leg in a cross and the other hand he leaned on. It was strange…this feeling to look onto the person who had actually bested her in combat. Even stranger was how…submissive she felt towards him, as if she would do anything to gain his favors.

"There's a reason why I didn't kill you" he interrupted her thoughts "what you said before you passed out."

Confusion comes across her features.

"You said 'I love you' remember?"

Her eyes widened, as a matter of fact she did remember although with how exhausted she was it couldn't have been more than a whisper "you heard that?"

"Yes like I hear your subordinates and mine making their way towards this location."

Her expression turned serious "they are alive?"

"Yes, except for the one called Stylish."

Esdese frowned, the doctor may have been..eccentric and selfish but he was a valued member of the team…she will at least take a day to mourn his loss. Her gaze fixed on Tatsumi, yet another extraordinary gift he has and now she is certain that is not the work of a Teigu.

Getting back on topic "did you mean it?"

"Yes" she answered immediately.

"Why?" he queried "I'm curious to know what the infamous Esdese finds attractive in me of all people" he really was curious "and be careful how you answer that Esdese" he warned "I can still end your life."

Having been threatened most of her time she was unfazed by his declaration even though she knew he could do it "despite what your opinion of me is Tatsumi I've never met someone like before in my life. At first I had deemed you suitable enough for me to groom to one day stand at my side. You had just so happened to perfectly fit a list of criteria I had constructed for that very purpose."

"That's why you were assessing my combat ability" he stated. Oh yes he could tell, for every compliment she threw out it was an observation of what he could do.

"Yes" she conceded "however I was wrong, you didn't need to be 'groomed' you were powerful enough as it is. It is quite apparent now that you have defeated me" she smiled warmly "it only confirmed that you and I-"

"Are meant to be" Tatsumi finished in a drawl.

"…yes"

He was really hoping for something better but sought clarification "so because I beat you in a fight you think you are in love with me."

Esdese scowled "I don't _think_ I am in love with you Tatsumi" she said adamantly "I _know_ I am in love with you."

She meant it, how could he not believe her? She had been nothing but truthful this entire time. Esdese could recall from the moment they met, their brief chats and subsequent battles she had never told him a lie. Everything she said is the truth.

"So what will you do about it?"

Esdese opened her mouth but closed it soon after to think over her next course of action. In truth she had no idea how to proceed, her original plan for when she does eventually find a partner fitting the criteria would be to take him with her to the palace and inaugurate him into the ranks of her own personal army through the Jaegers and personally groom him to be General class. She had even accounted for their less than willingness to comply but it didn't really take precedence she would get what she wanted.

She had not, in any scenario, account for if said man would be stronger than herself for the simple fact that it was impossible.

Or so she had thought

There's the dilemma, he had proven to be superior to her which meant that she automatically lost the privilege of leading this relationship. The age difference did not matter strength is strength and she was weaker than him. If this had taken place in her clan then he would be able to claim her whether she liked it or not…though she was very willing.

Then there is the other…complication.

Esdese knew her loyalty lied with the Empire but truly it only extended to her subordinates the Jaegers and her own army who are still in the middle of returning. She had loyalty to Honest only because he would provide her with the chance to go to war and fight challenging opponents. As for the King….a clueless child and like Honest any loyalty she had was for show.

In essence her decision boiled down to whether she was willing to betray the empire for Tatsumi. What was the higher priority to her? Her loyal subordinates, the Prime Minister and the Empire at large or the mysterious man whom had defeated her in battle and stolen her heart?

"I am yours" she finally said, her decision made "wherever you go I will follow Tatsumi. As I've said before I love you."

Tatsumi turned his head but Crow never kept its eyes off her "you really mean that?"

"Yes! Tatsumi I have never lied to you nor will I ever!"

' _She's not wrong'_ if there's one thing Tatsumi noticed through her ramblings, it would be her brutal honesty, not that he cared.

"What of your subordinates?"

"They will move on" probably receive someone else to oversee them, most likely Budo.

Tatsumi 'looked' at her "you are really willing to betray the Empire for me aren't you?"

"Yes I am" she stood firmly by her decision.

Well at least he got his answer _'the infamous General Esdese was willing to abandon everything to be my lover'_ it was so ironic he wanted to laugh. But he couldn't laugh, because he was restraining himself from outright killing her. If Tatsumi were to be honest the compulsiveness to kill Esdese was Darkslayers nature, to punish the sinful.

It was part of the reason how he got the powers in the first place but he would rather not remember those times.

He shook his head and sighed "no you don't have to do that" he stood slowly "this would never work."

"W-what?" Esdese too stood albeit a little wobbly, she had time to catch her breath but her body was still tired, she fought through the pain.

"A relationship between us wouldn't work Esdese" he clarified bluntly.

"Why not, do you find me repulsive?" she asked.

In a sense he does, although not in the way she thinks "I don't care what you look like" he tapped his metal plate "why would I care about something like appearances?"

"Is it because I'm a part of the Empire working against Night Raid?"

"I don't care about that either" he frowned "I think I made my thoughts clear on what I thought of the Empire's war with the Revolutionary Army."

He did "then what is it?"

"You've killed people" he stated.

Ah, _that_

Esdese frowned "from what I've understand you've also killed Tatsumi."

"There's a difference!" he said with an edge in his voice "you've killed _many_ innocent people. Men, women, children you've had a hand in taking their lives directly or indirectly."

Esdese didn't speak, her gaze neutral "I have" she admitted unabashed.

Tatsumi's brows furrowed "you don't care do you? The hundreds of lives you've taken, you don't care about any of them."

"You are right I _don't_ care. You say that I've taken many lives isn't it because they were too weak to fight for it?"

"There you go again talking about how 'weak' someone is. What does that have to do with it?"

"It has _everything_ to do with it!" she replied heatedly "the law of the world is survival of the fittest where the weak are weeded out. Those people died because they were too wea-oof!?"

Before she could finish Tatsumi tackled her to the ground pinned her arms above her head and she found a black blade near her face.

"Then that must extend to you right? I beat you so that means you are _weak_ and the weak are to be weeded _right?_ " he questioned between gritted teeth and had the blade pierce her slight swollen cheek.

"Yes it does" she admitted unabashed "do what you want, there is nothing wrong with being killed by my better" the statement was bittersweet on her tongue.

"You…you are an idiot" he stated bluntly before getting off and sitting beside her.

Esdese slowly rose and wiped the blood from her cheek with a thumb. A glance at Tatsumi told her that he was essentially sulking, with his feet huddled together. His chin was rested on his arms and she didn't need to see his face to know it had a troubled expression.

Being this close to him and seeing his expression, Esdese couldn't help but try to reach out to him "Tatsumi.."

" **Don't touch me!"** the venom in his voice made her hand recoil and surprise to fill her. Tatsumi sighed again "for your sake don't, it's hard enough being this close without ripping your head off."

Esdese took a moment before reigning in her stubbornness and chose to instead raise her leg, cross her arms over the knee and rest her had on it while glancing at him.

"I should kill you" he suddenly spoke "I should kill you to avenge them."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked curiously.

"The people you kill" he turned to her "I can feel them, they may be dead but their voices leave an echo around you" Esdese's brows quirked "and they demand **your death.** "

Her eyes narrowed, she wasn't inclined to believe that but he didn't look the type to lie and she was at least sure he wasn't insane.

"Does it have something to do with your mysterious Teigu?"

Tatsumi laughed a loud hollow laugh "I keep telling people it's not a Teigu but no one ever listens" he says more to himself.

"Then what is it?" she was now intrigued.

"Something much worse" she opened her mouth "I don't kiss and tell" he interrupted "but yes it has something to do with my….power."

"So you can hear…spirits?"

"No but I can feel the souls of the innocent who have been killed on their killers" he turned to her "I'm obliged to kill those people to 'free' them and you have a lot of them I'm getting the urge to slit your throat right now"

Esdese could actually see the hand holding the knife shaking a bit "so you see, us wouldn't be possible. Not unless you pay for your crimes."

Again Esdese wasn't incline to believe what he was saying however she had an open mind and she was hopelessly in love with the (possibly insane) boy.

"Times up" he said and stood up dusting himself off.

Before she could ask there was a loud shout "MASTER!"

Something, a little girl literally flew into the clearing and ran towards Tatsumi almost tackling him in a hug. Esdese scowled at seeing them so close together.

"Hello Air" Tatsumi grunted.

The girl stopped hugging him and stepped back to give him a proper once over, despite his mostly healed injuries the signs of battle were long and hard. She hadn't known her master long but he had always been strong, he singlehandedly saved her from Bach and practically took on all of Night Raid with barely any visible effort.

To see him like this is…her eyes trailed behind him to see Esdese scowling at her, she returned the gesture with her eyes turning midnight black. Soon knives start to rise from her shadow all pointing at Esdese. The General wasn't the least bit intimidated, although she was intrigued at seeing someone else have a power similar to Tatsumi.

' _Interesting'_

"Air" Tatsumi spoke.

She looked to him and the weapons dropped back into her shadow as her eyes returned to normal "yes master" she stepped back.

Tatsumi turned to address "your subordinates will be here in a few minutes, as will my servants" he reminded her "let's go Air."

She was now reminded of the fact that he was leaving her "wait!"

"What?"

"I can't let you leave like this."

"And you're going to stop me?" if he had any less control he would have snorted.

"No, we already established that didn't work" although she was tempted to try again with some assistance.

No, that wouldn't work either.

"Then what do you want from me? I already spared your life, which believe me is not as easy as I make it look."

"Isn't there _some_ way to resolve this?" she said pleadingly. Yes she was becoming desperate.

Tatsumi paused "aside from killing you?" he asked rhetorically "there is although" his face darkened "it will be _very_ painful"

Air looked at him with widened eyes _'it can't be'_

"I don't care, I'll do it"

"You might not survive." He warned.

She gives a cruel smile "I never back down from a challenge."

"Even if you survive, you won't be the same. Still want to do it?"

"…yes"

"Alright then" he started approaching her.

Esdese watched as he pulled off his blindfold to reveal the pallor of pale skin around his eyes "if you survive this, then I might just be able to stay in your presence long enough to actually try…us."

He stopped and ever so slowly opened his eyes to reveal the loveliest set of dulled emerald eyes she had ever seen. The only imperfection was the black lines that looked to be carved within them. Esdese's eyes widened as the black lines became engulfed in fire and soon they were in the shape of something she recognized from the alchemy books she once read in her spare time.

A pentagram.

As she stared she started to feel a burning sensation yet she couldn't move, couldn't stop herself from looking. Then there were the screams, the horrid screams of a thousand men, women and children so piercing she could have covered her ears yet she kept staring into his eyes. The next thing she knew Tatsumi, the girl and the barren ground which was their battlefield had vanished leaving her standing in an inferno.

" _ **Es..de..se"**_ she spun around but didn't see anything beyond the flames _**"We've been expecting you."**_

Form the inferno _they_ came, the deformed walking corpses, her feet was grabbed. She tried using her Teigu but nothing happened, after so long she had felt the heat again, she would have screamed but something grabbed her throat. Peering into _his_ hollowed eyes she could feel something prick in the back of her mind, something she had only experienced once in her life.

 _Fear_

" _ **Welcome….to… hell."**_

Then she screamed.

\

The bloodcurdling scream that cut through the forest almost made the Jaegers jump and for some they actually did.

"Was that..the captain?" Wave reluctantly questioned as they ran towards the sound of the scream.

For some of them the sound was so unbelievable it is hard to imagine. Esdese? Screaming in horror? That shouldn't even be possible let alone feasible, the woman is literally too strong for that. Even Wave thought the thought of her voice reaching an octave that high was….wrong, just plain wrong.

Kurome gritted her teeth, she was still too weak to walk herself so she was still in Natala's arms and he didn't need to be told what to do. The five Jaeger members and corpse doll followed the path of carnage to a cliff base where down below they saw Tatsumi kneeling over a downed Esdese with Air not too far behind.

"Captain!" Seryu shouted jumping down everyone soon followed.

Seryu leveled her gun at them, Wave unsheathed Grand Chariot's sword and Natala placed Kurome down and on her orders got his weapon ready. Air stood protectively before her master several shadow weapons already floating. For his part Tatsumi covered his eyes and stood albeit a little shakily.

Air was quick to assist him, his well being takes precedence over them "are you alright?"

"I'm fine" he answered "and Esdese is still alive" he answered their unasked question before pulling a floating sword and aiming it at her neck "but for how long depends on you."

Seryu and Kurome's expressions twisted in a scowl before Run stepped forward "it seems we have reached an impasse then" he noticed Air momentarily giving him a look of shock before it receded.

"It looks that way, unless you let the four of us go."

"Four?"

"MASTER!"

The shout followed by two bodies dropping off the cliff a distance from the Jaegers.

"Yes Four" Tatsumi confirmed "Fal, Luna" he greeted.

Both girls were taken aback by the state Tatsumi was in, he looked like a mess and sounded tired. Judging by the slight sway in his body he probably felt as bad as he looked maybe even worse. Their gazes soon turned to the Jaegers and a fierce glare marred their features, especially on two specific individuals.

"T-that's impossible, you shouldn't have survived that" Bols said with a stammer "I detonated that bomb when you were right next to it."

This caused some reaction "that was you!?" Wave said incredulously, how did he ever acquire a bomb like that?

Seryu's gun was now leveled at Luna whose hood partially obscured her features. Luna silently glared at her while

Fal grinned wickedly "surprised huh? Its gonna take a lot more than that to kill me but at least you get to have another shot at me. So what's it gonna be? Fight like man or run like #$%?" she taunted.

"Fal, we are not fighting them" Tatsumi's voice cut through "unless they want to fight and don't let the fact that I can kill Esdese at anytime fool you. I don't need to threaten her" he threw the sword away "even in my weakened state I can kill most of you leaving the rest for my servants."

"Pull the trigger psycho" Fal said to Seryu who leveled the arm-gun to her "give master an excuse" that's when her eyes leaked to midnight black, though no shadow armor formed.

"You killed him" she spoke her voice dripping with rage.

Fal's eyes narrowed "you mean the crazy, queer geezer?" She frowned.

"His name was doctor Stylish!" she yelled with the beginning of tears welling up.

"Funny, that's not the name I got from his memories" she said, her tone flat.

Seryu's eyes widen as did a few of the Jaegers.

"Oh, yeah when I absorbed him I got a glimpse into that twisted f*cker's life. Wanna know what he thought about you, Seryu?" her tone at the end sounded sad almost pitying.

Seryu should shoot her, she really should but with Fal's tone made her start to consider this.

"That won't be necessary" Run placed a hand on Seryu's shoulder.

"Run?"

Run knew exactly what Stylish thought of her, of everyone actually and he doesn't think Seryu was ready to hear it. It was doubtful she would believe the girl but he could already see his death had affected her greatly. She was already down, there was no reason for her to be kicked as well.

He lowered her arm "we're obviously not in a position to fight you and survive."

Kurome would have refuted it, she had Destaghoul and it could wipe all of them out but truly she wasn't sure about the boy. He looked tired and was littered with bruises but no damage that looked to slow him down and if he's fast enough then she might be the first one to die. She has fate in Natalia but there is a huge power gap between them if he was able to defeat Esdese.

"Then we will leave, Fal, Luna come" he ordered.

Fal glared at them as her eyes returned to normal "you won't get away with this!" Seryu swore "JUSTICE ALWAYS WINS!"

Fal rolled her eyes and muttered some choice words, that girl was truly a lost cause. Luna however didn't remain silent, that girl's attitude was truly grating on even her own apathy.

Luna looked Seryu dead in the eyes "if we ever meet on the battlefield again" she raised her sleeve and a small snake creature slithered up her hand "then with my master's permission I will have my pets **peel the flesh off your bones and let you watch as they eat it**."

The shadowbeast lets out a low hiss its unnaturally large teeth looking menacing despite its size. The worst part of Luna's threat..no promise was her delivery, unlike Seryu there was no emotion, it was as if she was stating a fact.

With her piece said she wordlessly made her way towards Fal and Air who both stared at her slack jawed.

She must _really_ hate that girl.

Tatsumi didn't comment he only spread his arms wide and they disappeared in a burst of black.

 _To Be continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And thus concludes Night Raid v Jaegers: Dawn Of Shadows. Just kidding but seriously I did want to do something to cover the fallout but I ended up writing this instead.**

 **Writing the interaction between Esdese and Tatsumi here was…refreshing, I seriously don't think anyone has** _ **ever**_ **wrote Esdese like this before. I know she seems a bit OOC here but think about it, she's in completely new waters here. In the manga she always imagined herself to be the one in control of the relationship (as a sadistic torturer) and that makes sense. Hell even though she ended up temporarily becoming a slave to her love she never once had been submissive…that's just not her.**

 **Here she was soundly defeated and as mentioned, lost all right to be the one taking charge in their relationship and given her philosophy I think she would wholly accept Tatsumi taking the lead. Going by that logic I'm pretty sure her entire tribe would be like that. I would also like to say I believe it isn't so OOC once you think about it but the series never hint at her attitude should it be.**

 **I know this is stupid but I would also like to defend Tatsumi's decision of why he essentially gave Esdese a chance. I think I gave the relevant reason, that being curiosity plain and simple**

 **That bit with Tatsumi's eyes being revealed, that was part of the original plan I mentioned a few chapters back. Now you guys have a glimpse into the nature of Tatsumi's power, although I'm pretty sure it's not that big of a surprise. That will be explained...in time.**

 **We get a glimpse into the thoughts of the most insane and possibly the least liked female in the series. Remember when I mentioned I see potential in her character? Well that moment with Bols is just a catalyst into what I have planned for her. Oh my, Stylish is dead and Esdese is out of commission, hmm, I wonder who could possibly be the one to console her now?**

 **FYI, No I am not shipping them, jeez the guy's married for f*ck's sake. Hopefully I can use this as a starting point I hope to mold Seryu's character in a way that enables me to write her lines without having to role my eyes and make her likeable.**

 **That's all I have to say, feel free to leave a comment**

 _ **Next time we see the actual fallout from the battle as everyone recovers.**_


	10. Kill The Fallout

**Author's Notes: I forgot to address this last chapter but the rating is staying at T because I'm not going to describe anything too graphic, like torture and sex scenes. Even if there might be a scene like that I'll be general about it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Kill The Fallout**

Sayo eyes narrowed at the poster in her hand before heading inside the house Susanoo built from scratch, by himself, in less than a few hours. She barged inside right up to the boss and slammed the poster on the table

"Are they for real!?" she yelled.

Her outburst gained the attention of the residence, that is, Najenda, Rabac, Chelsea, Mein and Schere. The others were outside practicing or clearing the nearby area of dangerbeasts, Sayo was picked to survey the land and gather some information on the Capital. Honest was determined to get his hands on Tatsumi, which meant he could have people sweep the area

"What's with all the yelling for?" Mein griped "some of us are trying to relax."

Sayo gave her a look, she really wasn't in the mood for the shorter girl's attitude right now. Chelsea's curiosity was piqued as she skipped over to the table and read the contents of the poster. She raised an eyebrow at this and handed it over to Rabac who stared at it a moment before he had an incredulous look.

"What the hell?"

Najenda took the poster and read it before sighing as Sayo ranted "what do they think they're doing? Tatsumi's not even part of Night Raid! The only thing they're doing is painting a target on his back."

"They sure work fast" Rabac complimented.

Najenda messaged her temple "as much as I disprove of this, it is working" Najenda spoke.

"What?"

"They saw an opportunity to take advantage of a grey area to bolster their ranks giving them a better chance against the Empire and they took it."

"But these people join because of Tatsumi and he's not even here, we have no idea where he is."

"For now Tatsumi is 'operating as leader of a four man cell under the Revolutionary Army'" she repeated what the higher-ups told her to say about the elusive boy.

Rabac frowned but he can understand why they would lie.

"And what would happen if by some miracle they actually find him?" Sayo was being very persistent with this, it was one thing to point out Esdese's defeat but it's another thing to blatantly tell everyone he's a part of the Revolutionary Army.

Najenda frowned "I honestly don't know, I already told them I don't support this decision, if Tatsumi denies it then they'll just have to deal with it" she dismissed.

Sayo could do nothing but sigh in aggravation, before someone patted her shoulder "what are you worried about anyway?" Chelsea spoke, lollipop in her mouth "from what we know if he's strong enough to beat Esdese then he'll be fine."

She's right of course, Tatsumi can teleport anywhere he wants and there's no doubt he's the strongest person this side of the world but he's still her friend and the last thing she wants is for him to think badly of her because those idiots are using him as promotional material.

"Ugh" she's still angry "I'm going outside for target practice."

It had been a few days since The Jaegers covert battle with Night Raid and their subsequent loss. Needless to say despite their wish to keep the results under wraps, rumor eventually and predictably began to surface. It was obvious someone leaked information from the palace as the information was just a little too close to the truth for wild rumors.

The thing is they couldn't deny it since they did indeed lose one of their ranks in the battle in Dr. Stylish and currently their Captain Esdese is still in some kind of coma-like trance. According to the doctors it could be head trauma suffered in her reportedly brutal battle with the boy known as Tatsumi.

Either way the Empire's Strongest had been defeated and incapacitated. As expected this caused an uproar in the ranks of the Empire's elite. Esdese was like the vanguard for them, one of the three pillars of power for the capital. To see Esdese defeated is a major blow to the overall morale and power play for the capital, more specifically the Prime Minister.

It is for that reason why the boy who defeated her, Tatsumi and his three accomplices had been placed on the bounty board and effectively been made the most wanted person in the capital. It was irrelevant whether he chooses not to step foot in the capital or interfere with the Revolutionary Army, he was dangerous and as long as he lives the Empire will not live this down.

Similarly the Revolutionary Army has basically built there propaganda around this event. It is a fact that Tatsumi has aided Night Raid and fought alongside them to defeat Esdese. So as far as anyone outside of Night Raid and certain people in the Revolutionary Army is concerned Tatsumi _is_ a part of the Revolution and is practically their poster boy, _literally._

\

Today Run was patrolling by himself, well he wouldn't really call it patrolling so much as it is him taking a walk. So much has changed in the little time since their defeat at the hands of Night Raid. Never would Run had thought they would lose, at best he thought Night Raid would have somehow escaped if not outright killed or captured.

Then again there were variables and not even he could account for what would happen when it comes to them. There was no way he could've known Tatsumi would be even more powerful than Esdese. There was no way he would have accounted for his subordinates to have such strange Teigu.

If what they do have are indeed Teigus.

He's never heard of a shadow manipulating Teigu before neither is one recorded in the imperial archives. Also how can four different people have similar Teigus revolving around shadow manipulation? No this isn't a Teigu or at least it's not a Teigu made by the Empire 1000 years ago.

So what could it be?

Ever since the success of Teigus scientist have since tried to replicate the design of the Teigu but the closest the Empire has ever come to were the inferior Shingu's. Not only were the Shingu's less powerful than Teigus but also tricky to use and the aftereffects may even impair the user after limited usage time.

He sighed, speaking of Teigus Mastena still hasn't been repaired yet. Apparently it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be to repair it. Not even the current top scientist could repair the Teigu. Perhaps Stylish would have been able to but he's dead and it was enough for Run to regret his death…a little.

So for now his new leader has effectively put him on probation, he still is a part of the Jaegers but until his Teigu is repaired Run will not be participating in any combat. That leaves him with some free time with his muses, investigate Empire secrets and distribute his findings to the revolutionary army.

His new leader Great General Budo in a lot of ways is like Esdese but also isn't at the same time. There is no question about his strength, authority, knowledge and experience on the battlefield. But the one thing that would separate him from Esdese is his subtlety, many would think Esdese is an impulsive woman but truly she can be quite conniving as well.

With Budo he wears his emotions on his sleeves. It is painfully obvious he despises the Prime Minister and it is obvious he wants to rid the Emperor of his influence. That is good and all but at the same time he is a slave to his devotion to said Emperor and by extension the Prime Minister as well.

Run sighed, if the man would be willing to compromise then he would have made a great ally in changing the Empire from within. As it stands though, if Run were to try and convince him then more than likely he would die trying. The thing about Budo is, he has no tact or patience, he wants to get rid of the Prime Minister quite literally then deal with the consequences after.

It's like he's living in a fantasy which is truly odd that a man who has spent most of his life on the battlefield would be so uncouth. Run could only shake his head at the missed opportunity and the worst part is, they do have similar views on the state of the Empire but the man simply refuses to compromise his code to achieve their shared vision.

' _All in good time I suppose'_ he looked to the sky wistfully before his gaze sharpened _'in the meantime I will see to searching through Stylish's lab.'_

The reason for this is that a new breed of dangerbeasts have been popping up around the Empire's territory and attacking the people in the area. On their last mission the Jaegers managed to bring back samples of the beasts. Run could recognize one of Stylish's horrid experiments any day.

And so Run had been heading towards one of Stylish's base of operations hidden just outside the walls of the Empire.

"This would have much less taxing if I could fly" he lamented.

\

Prime Minister Honest was not an easy man to get to show emotions like anger, sorrow or fear however during the rare moments in which he does he can sweep it under the rug in the blink of an eye. The first time in which this has not been so was perhaps a few days ago after the Teigu taskforce in which Esdese formed to take down Night Raid came back from the assault on said group.

To say that Honest was shocked at the result of the battle was an understatement, not only was the lead scientist in the Empire dead but Esdese was also rendered unconscious. It was the latter in which truly made him actually felt fear because no matter how badly things could get he could always count on that woman's strength to turn the tides.

To think she would be defeated by some unknown foreigner is inconceivable. Honest kept the poster of the boy with him to remind himself of what possibly ruined him. Honest was someone who could keep a grudge for a long time but usually the object of his grudge would have been stripped of everything by now and killed in a most brutal fashion.

This boy has dealt a crippling blow to his defense in defeating Esdese. Honest will have his hide for this transgression if not his loyalty. Oh yes apparently this boy isn't working for Night Raid or the revolutionary army. He read that in the mission reports, the boy speaking that he does not align himself to either side.

Honest could care less about what he said because it still didn't stop the revolutionary army from capitalizing on Esdese's defeat. The fires of rebellion have been stoked and he can tell those who were wavering before have begun to question his rule.

He still had one more trump card up his sleeve but that was an absolute last resort and not one that is supposed to be used frivolously.

' _For now I will work on securing my first trump card'_ he thought entering the room.

Inside Esdese's body lay on the bed, unmoving. Inside the room doctors were monitoring her condition.

"Prime Minister!" one of them recognized.

"What is her condition?" Honest demanded.

"U-unresponsive sir but we have to keep her on sedatives to counter the adrenaline her body is producing."

Honest scowled "explain."

The fearful doctor gulped "y-yes sir, we don't know why but Esdese's body seemed to be in a heightened state. Even though she's t-technically comatose her body is producing chemicals simulating when one is in a high stress situation."

Honest glared at the man who gulped, then stared at what used to be his number one asset.

"Do you have an estimation of when she will wake up?"

"We're still not sure sir" another doctor spoke "it could be today, next week or maybe she could never wake up again."

"Stop the dosage of her sedatives" he said not taking his eyes off her.

"E-excuse me sir?"

His sharp glare turned to the doctor who visibly cowered "I said stop the dosage of sedatives doctor and harvest her blood."

' _If there is no guarantee that she will wake up then I will need to find someone else to wield her Teigu.'_

"Y-yes sir" he bowed and went over to the machine that was like Esdese's life support.

But before he could stop the dosage someone called out "your majesty."

Honest's eyes widened and he spun around to see Makoto standing by the doorway with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. The two guards who accompanied him were standing on either side of him.

"Your highness, I didn't know you were visiting. Are those for the General?"

Emperor Makoto walked inside "yes."

"They look lovely."

"Thank you" the boy placed the bouquet in a vase by the bed before sitting by her bedside "and you Prime Minister?"

"Ah, I was just passing through and thought to see how General Esdese's recovery is going."

The Emperor looked down at the sleeping general "how is she?"

Honest stepped beside "there's no change in her condition I'm afraid. The doctors aren't even sure she'll wake up."

"But they're doing all they can right" his head snapped to the nearby doctor "aren't you?"

The doctor stiffened "yes we are Emperor" he bowed a little at him.

"That's good" he then looked in concern at Esdese's comatose form.

"Your highness, perhaps you should leave the doctors to their work."

Makoto looked hesitant, he wanted a few more minutes with the Empire's strongest, she had really been a good General and he honestly respected her. That's why he wanted the one who did this to be found.

In the end he sighed and exited the room.

He can only pray that the General makes a recovery.

\

 _She had never been in so much pain in her life. Not even during her youth was she ever this injured. Her opponent would have been long dead before. During the fight with Tatsumi she was high on adrenaline and preoccupied with thoughts of winning to think about the pain for long. Then again such was the difference between being in a battle and being tortured._

 _What was even more surreal would be the fact that the person torturing her was herself. It had been like this ever since that_ _ **demon**_ _welcomed her to hell. She thought it was the hell but in reality it was her hell. Her hell considering she was apparently reliving the last moments of the lives of the people she had a hand in ending._

 _Esdese never gave a thought as to the number of people she killed and even now she didn't know the exact number but as of now it was in the high hundreds, probably, she stopped counting along those lines. The pain was literally too much to keep her mind coherent and even for her the amount of time spent in this hell was enough to affect her._

 _Granted it took almost a month and over twenty different torture sessions conducted by herself on some unknown victims to get her to scream. After that first gasp of pain escaped her lips it was all downhill from there. She had to give herself some credit, she was truly a master of the craft, no two experiences were alike with herself._

 _Which meant when Esdese got used to one form of prolonged torture, her doppelganger would come up with another one. She did like to experiment after all. Still she hung onto her will, pain is painful but never lasting even though she had been feeling nothing but pain for what felt like years._

 _She would not break, not even Esdese herself can ever break her indomitable will. She's trying though, her doppelganger is truly trying to, and on more than one occasion she succeeded. But she maintained herself, even when she began to question herself._

 _You see what makes this experience especially jarring and psychologically scarring is the fact that Esdese inhabits the body of the ones who died. She has an inkling of who they are, their beliefs, their lives before she ended them. It's just enough for her to know but not completely become them, she doesn't lose her sense of self but she understood them._

 _Esdese gained some perspective with each person she died as but that doesn't mean she thought any highly of them. They are dead, in the end they were weak and the strong always survive against the weak. That was the way of the Partas clan, her clan…the clan that was ambushed and massacred, the clan that in the end was too weak to defend itself._

 _No, the clan lives with her, she_ _ **is**_ _the Partas clan now and she isn't weak therefore the clan isn't weak, not anymore._

 _While she was musing, the scenery changed, she wasn't in the torture rooms anymore she was in the snow. Usually the cold would be comforting to her because of her Teigu but now it was uncomfortable, freezing. It's the first time in a long time she had ever felt cold. Her eyes looked up to see herself along with some soldiers and the Three Beasts._

 _Then a layer of snow was conjured up and Esdese was buried alive in a ton of snow. She didn't die immediately either, she was cold, in a lot of pain and it became harder and harder to breathe. The first time she died through asphyxiation, the second was through hypothermia and so on and so forth for over 400 lives._

 _As she prepared for another eventual death she began to question why she was going through this. For what reason was she having to suffer through the humiliation. It wasn't the constant dying that made her confused, it was how she died and the thoughts that went through her head._

 _What was the point of this?_

 _What was she supposed to gain from this?_

 _Was she supposed to feel sorry for these people?_

 _She didn't and never will, what's done is done, she can never change that._

 _Why did Tatsumi send her here?_

 _Tatsumi, that name was something she hadn't thought of in…months, years? She didn't have a good grasp of time. Now that she was now experiencing slowly freezing to death again she had time to think. She ignored the thoughts of the child she currently inhabited to ponder about the man whom she fell in love with._

 _She had figured long ago that this was some kind of illusionary penance he placed her in. Whether he meant for her to live through this or for her to take something from this she wasn't clear on. So far Esdese had thought the former and so as a challenge just tried to live through it but maybe it's the latter._

 _So what exactly should she be taking from this experience?_

 _That was her last thoughts while inhabiting the body of a ten year old who took a last shuddering breath in the frozen embrace of her long dead mother._

 _\_

For once Fal found herself sitting still on top of a small rock formation overlooking a flat rocky terrain. She had been doing this a lot lately which is so out of character for her. Usually she would be doing something even before her powers and considering now she doesn't sleep it's a wonder why she isn't doing anything. Well the answer is fairly simple, see Fal was told some startling news that had her reconsidering the nature of her powers.

During the battle with the Jaegers she had blacked out and woken up in a giant hole. That's what she remembered along with bits and pieces of the battle itself that got hazier the longer she tried to remember. The truth is, she had gone berserk, her powers had control of her mind and she fought more on instinct.

That was a surprise and the things Luna said she did made her worried but it was the disappointment in her master's voice that truly impacted her resolve. Luna was very close to going berserk as well but she managed to keep a lid on her emotions as always. That's not Fal though, she's a very emotional and impulsive girl.

That's why for her training she had to reflect on her actions.

The problem was that Fal used her powers too much, she was over reliant. If she had an itch to scratch she would be out training or hunting. Granted it's that single minded mentality that allowed her survive a bomb to the face but it also makes her susceptible to losing control if tensions run high.

It's also the reason why she had to mostly fight that itch in what could be the worst torture imagined for her, doing absolutely nothing. Even now she could feel the urge to just let loose, just find something do or provoke a dangerbeast. Master couldn't blame her for defending herself right?

"Don't even think about it."

Fal suppressed a groan, she almost forgot she wasn't alone. Luna sat behind her reading that encyclopedia of dangerbeasts. It was her master's idea for her to have a babysitter and who could be better than the girl who had perfect control of her emotions? HE could have left Crow to watch but figured she would be better off having someone to talk to.

For once Fal question her master's decision. Leaving Luna in the hopes of starting a conversation is _not_ something that even be _considered_ let alone acted upon. She wasn't very talkative to begin with, and ever since she got that damn book unless you were Tatsumi you'd be lucky to get more than two sentences out of her.

"Don't think about what?"

"Going off and fighting a dangerbeast."

How did she know that?

"You're easy to read Fal."

"Urk! Well sorry if I'm a little agitated!" she all but yelled "I mean at east you're doing stuff! Most of the time I'm sitting here, going nothing!"

Luna's azure eyes went over to Fal's own amber ones though she could see her power activating due to agitation.

"Do you know why master has you doing this?"

She blew a breath "he wants me to learn patience" she said as if repeating it for the hundredth time.

"Yes, it isn't just about you going berserk but because you rush into thinks without thinking it through."

Fal frowned, she was aware of some of her short comings but "not all the time."

"That's because either master Air or I hold you back but you never hold yourself back. Even before we came to the capital and up to when we were with Bach."

"What are you getting at?"

Luna sighed closing her book "Fal you don't have any tact. You think you can barrel through all your problems and make it out okay."

"That doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing!"

"You're overconfident and that can be a weakness."

Fal sighed "did we have this conversation before?"

"As a matter of fact we did."

"Okay, just making sure" she tapped her leg "so how do I fix that?"

"If I tell you it wouldn't be the same as you figuring it out."

"Come on Luna I'm dying here!" she begged throwing herself at her friend.

Or she would have if something hadn't grabbed her from behind.

"Please control yourself" Luna said eyes in her book.

The shadowbeast let her go and Fal looked at her newest creation.

"Well this one's new" she said looking at the shadowbeast.

It was a 6 foot humanoid bat creature with winged arms and talons.

"What's this one called?"

"Man-bat."

Fal looked at her then the creature "you got that from a book?"

"No it's something I made myself."

Fal gave her look tilting her head "why not just make a regular bat?"

Luna glanced at her with an unnerving smirk "that would be too boring."

Fal laughed nervously _'and I thought that queer was a mad scientist.'_

"So where's master at?" she decided to change topics.

"He's training Air."

Fal frowned "again?"

"She did handle herself better than we did."

"I was the one who went berserk."

"And I let that girl get under my skin" the hold on her book tightened somewhat before relaxing "either way Air earned her time with master."

Fal was jealous but didn't argue with it, not only did Air manage to take one of them out of the fight but managed to make herself more useful on the battlefield than either of them did.

Fal sighed and plopped down on the grass and looked to the sky "great she's having the time of her life while we're sitting here doing nothing important."

Luna paused "I'm readi-"

" _Nothing important_ " she stressed not taking her eyes off the sky.

She missed the glare and ignored the shadowbeast's hiss.

\

Air was _not_ having the time of her life.

She raised her weapon to block the strike before it swung around her body blocking fast blows. All the while Air was waving her arms controlling the weapon, a spear. She tried to gain some distance but the sword followed.

"You can't run all the time Air" Tatsumi's said, taking slow steps towards her.

Air gritted her teeth as his sword started moving faster yet his arms remained by his side.

"You're movements are too exaggerated, that's why you require space. It's not your hands that control the weapons Air, it's your mind. You don't need to wave your hands to control it."

Easier said than done, Air knows this and she can control it without the hand gestures but using her hands make for a better reaction when commanding the weapons. It's like a puppeteer controlling a puppet with invisible strings.

"You're opponents could exploit what you're doing, like this" the sword went in close giving her no choice but to hastily turn her weapon to a shield only to feel something by her throat.

By this time Tatsumi had backed her into a corner as he finished his walk across the threshold.

"And you're dead" his weapon retreated.

"How?"

"Multitasking, the other sword was always there, you were just too distracted to notice."

Air let out a sad sigh to which Tatsumi patted her head affectionately "don't worry, you'll get it, just remember the weapons respond to what you're thinking not what you tell them to do."

Air tilted her head in confusion "huh?"

Tatsumi looked up in thought "how do I put this in words…" he trailed off before snapping his fingers "alright think of the weapons like an animal that obeys your command but instead of saying what your command is or pointing at something you just think it and it does what want" he snaps his finger "just like that."

Air frowned "how is that any different from what I've been doing?"

That's what she does, she's been thinking about what to do the entire time and so far it works.

"The difference is you use your arms to direct it, you don't need to do that."

"But if I don't it'll move slower."

"It only moves slower because that's how you want it to be."

"I don't get it."

"Air, you think faster than you move. When you think something and allow it to transfer to your weapon's actions it's faster than when you think something then try to move your arms to direct your weapon."

Air still didn't' get it, not clearly anyway and Tatsumi sighed "because I'm blind, I don't see anything so I just let my brain think of an action and my weapons do it without me lifting a finger."

Air pondered this for a moment "let my brain think of an action without trying to direct it afterwards?"

"That's the gist of it yes" he nodded before turning away "keep practicing."

Tatsumi teleported away leaving Air with her thoughts.

\

"Ah, master"

Luna's monotone voice caused Fal's eyes to open and she found herself staring into the metal plate of Tatsumi.

She immediately sat up "m-master!"

"You can leave now Luna, I'll be with you in a bit."

The girl closed her book and nodded walking off.

"Sit down Fal" he said doing the same.

His servant did as commanded and soon both of them were staring into the horizon, well Fal was anyway.

"Bored?"

Fal slumped somewhat "yeah."

"Then I think it's time you did something."

Fal brightened.

"You're not moving from this spot though."

Annnd she's depressed again.

"I am going to teach you a new trick though."

She perked up again "really? What?"

"You're power doesn't just increase your strength and reflexes more than Air and Fal. It also increases your senses."

"…you mean like you?"

"Why do you think I can hear things far away? Why do you think even though I wasn't here I could hear your entire conversation with Luna?"

His head turned in her direction but she averted her gaze "s-sorry." She looked back to him "so how does that work?"

Tatsumi shook his head at her topic change but answered her question "it's simple, the same way how you use your shadow to enhance your punches just imagine it going to your ear-"

"Got it!" she activated her power, the shadows converging on her ear.

Tatsumi remained quiet, waiting for the reaction he expected from someone eager to do but not listen.

' _Though she'll be listening plenty any second no-"_

" **AAAAHAHHHHHHHHH!"**

Fal covered her ears with a loud scream convulsing on the ground before the pain stopped.

Tatsumi sighed "I was going to say not to put too much power in it since you don't know how to filter out most noises."

"WHAT?" she shouted rubbing her ears.

"…"

"Ugh, ow what the $%& was that?"

"…"

Fal shook her head and continued a string of curses under her breath while Tatsumi glanced to the sky.

He waited a moment longer before speaking "are you done yet?"

"Yeah, I'm done" she gave him a sheepish expression "sorry master."

"Next time wait until I finish speaking."

"Okay!"

"Now I was going to say, you don't necessarily need activate your shadow armor for this. Just like the shadow in your robe try reaching for the ones in your ear."

"The shadow in my ear?"

"Yes, the path into your ear isn't a straight one so light doesn't pass through creating shadows. First see if you can feel it, you should be able to."

' _Okay, shadow in my ear'_ she closed her eyes.

Needless to say Fal had never done this before, reaching out to shadows without her armor. Even now that instinct to just have the armor latch onto her was slowly ebbing at her mind.

Fal sighed "I can't do it."

"Yes you can, just not yet. You did it before with your armor."

"Yeah but it just comes naturally, you know?"

"..I do" he then sighed "fine, try with your armor but not much, I think you learn that your ears are pretty sensitive."

Fal grinned "got it master!"

The shadow slowly crept up to her ears except slowly. A few moments and it went into her ears, not much this time, she didn't want to experience that noise again.

"Okay it's going in."

"How much can you hear?"

She grit her teeth "a lot, I can-ow"

She clutched her ear with a grimace, her body can heal but the noise is like scraping glass.

"It's just like regular hearing only hypersensitive, try to distinguish my heartbeat from the noise."

She tried to do so and could hear something like a giant dangerbeast trotting rhythmically.

"Focus only on that and adjust so it doesn't hurt."

Fal did that and soon she could hear his heartbeat like a beating drum "I did it."

"Good" he stood up "keep practicing. Try to hear what Air is doing" he walked off leaving a grateful Fal to do something.

He walked towards Luna who had her back turned to him but before he could get close he heard something moving before she spoke.

"I see you master."

Tatsumi heard something slither on the ground "I guess I don't have to ask how your practice is going then" he folded his arms.

Luna turned around "I think I have the hang of seeing through their eyes."

"Good."

"Is it possible to go further?"

Tatsumi thought about this "yes it is. I don't just 'see' through Crow's eyes, I understand what he is seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling."

"You become one with your familiar."

"It helps to get a better sense of what they are experiencing when you are not there."

He didn't have to see to know Luna looked very interested in the possibilities of that implication.

"Try not to go too deeply Luna, you never know when you cross the line between you controlling them or the other way around."

Luna was confused by the statement and pondered this while Tatsumi walked away.

\

Bors slammed into one of the Dangerbeasts, performing a lariat that sent it skidding away from the caravan.

He exhaled through his gas mask "I made it in time!"

Another dangerbeast tried to jump him but he quickly maneuvered behind it upon landed, grabbed its waist and performed a reverse suplex. The others tried to gang him while preoccupied and he counted on this. When they got close he grabbed the down dangerbeast's legs and spun around using its body like a battering ram to knock away the others before tossing it away.

"This will finish you for sure!" he whipped around Rubicante and incinerated all the Dangerbeasts.

Once it was finished he turned to the civilians who regarded him warily "um, I've defeated the dangerbeasts so" he started walking forward "there's no need to be afraid."

It wasn't any use though and the men began to panic, that's when a hand was placed on one of their shoulder.

Seryu smiled at them disarmingly "it's alright now, the flames of justice have incinerated the evil."

"O-oh" he put a hand to his chest "you're soldiers from the capital?"

"Thank God!"

Bors watched from the sidelines as the men ignored him in favor of talking to Seryu _'at least they're safe.'_

Bors wasn't really bothered with his treatment, he's not dumb enough to believe his appearance doesn't give people a bad impression since it was practically designed to do so. Would it make sense for a member of the 'Incinerator Squad' to give off a friendly vibe?

Growls alerted the group that it wasn't over yet and they all turned to see even more of the strange dangerbeasts.

"Oh god there's more of them!"

Bors went to engage but stopped once Seryu already went ahead.

"You incarnations of evil who threatened the populace. **Koro, number 1** "

Koro transformed into its giant visage and bit her arm letting go to reveal a giant spiked bal with a huge '1' in the middle.

Her face twisted in murderous glee " **Shinkou's** _Ball Of Justice_ **!** "

The ball smashed into all the Dangerbeasts shredding them without any remorse.

" **Koro, feast on the weakened evil!** "

Koro did as command and in a frenzy of blood and fleshed devoured the dangerbeasts.

Once done it ran to its master reverting to its small form. Seryu crouched down petting the dog Teigu.

"Good boy, you ate a lot" she cooed before turning around "it is alright now, I have vanquished the evil. Where did they go?"

The only person visible was Bors "um…"

"Let's get the hell outta here!" the voice cut through the awkward atmosphere and they saw the caravan already hallway out of view.

As the dust settled both Jaeger members blinked and Bors sighed "I hope Wave and Kurome are having better luck."

\

" **Grand Fall!"**

An armored Wave crashed into the trio of fleeing Dangerbeasts like a falling star. Crashing into them, they were knocked back by the shockwave but the attack didn't injure any of them.

Not that injuring them was part of the plan "Kurome Now!"

Like a blur Kurome weaved through the group inflicting fatal wounds upon them and adding them to her corpse collection. It was the only way they figured they would be able to study them up close. The creatures have proven to be more durable than most dangerbeasts.

Wave stood up and Grand chariot receded into the sword which he sheathed "well that went better than I thought it could."

Kurome didn't speak or really acknowledged his presence. She only looked upon the three new additions to her corpse collection. There was an almost vacant, depressed look in her eye

' _She must still be feeling bad about the last one.'_

Many of the Jaegers have taken their loss to Night Raid personally, Wave included. He was one of the best marine in his platoon or at least he thought he was. Their first contact with Night Raid and he lost, what was even more embarrassing was that he got knocked out from behind. He didn't take that loss very well and it made him wary of when they would meet if at all especially since Stylish was dead and Esdese out of commission.

Wave's attention remained on Kurome the entire time but as he took a closer look he saw long string of drool running down the corner of her mouth.

His eyes practically bugged out "no Kurome you can't eat them!"

A few meters away, hiding behind a tree a cloaked figure watched the exchange _'hmph, so that's the Jaegers hmm? Even without that woman they are strong, still'_ a feral grin enveloped his visible mouth _'the group I've ensemble is still stronger, so until they arrive I'll have you continue to play with my toys.'_

\

 _Esdese had started to have something akin to respect for some of her victims. Despite not being trained as warriors they have a will to live that shouldn't be taken lightly. Normally she would have compared them cockroaches but having lived through it she rescinded her past claims._

 _She had reached what could be the crescendo of her constant literal life-death struggle as the deaths she encountered began to get closer and closer to when she fought Tatsumi. She had no idea what would happen and was frankly anxious. She would have liked that it would be over but she wasn't naïve._

 _No, either it would start all over again or the final death will actually be her final death._

 _As the thought entered her mind the temperature changed and she found herself drowning in a pot of boiling water which was made cooler courtesy of herself so the agony would last longer._

' _I need to end this.'_

 _She did not have any interest in repeating her sentence and dying wasn't appealing in the least. She had an angle to work on once it came to ending this. The voice that had greeted her upon entering this realm said 'welcome to hell.'_

 _Why do people go to hell?_

 _To repent for their sins._

' _Repent.'_

 _She wasn't here to serve out a sentence or experience pain, that wasn't the main reason why. Esdese realized she should feel sorry for the people she had killed, to truly feel remorse for her action, that was the real reason for this. Now she found a possible way to end this but it was easier said than done._

 _\_

"We're all set doctor" a nurse spoke.

In an underground infirmary several tubes were hooked onto Esdese's body. She was surrounded by several doctors.

"Begin blood harvesting."

\

Air glared/pouted at the shadow lance as she sat down cross-legged. She had been trying and failing to do what her master had thought her. How could her brain direct her weapon to do something without her being aware of it?

*Rustle*

It sounded downright impossible but how could it be when Tatsumi could do it? then again she's known him to do the impossible so she must be able to do it at some point down the line.

*Crunch*

' _But today isn't that day'_ she sighed.

" _Grargh"_

Before whatever it was could grab her Air shot into the air and trapped the creature in a net of shadow wires. Its movements were completely halted though it tried to move.

"I've never seen a dangerbeast like this before."

It was huge, grotesque and humanoid with partially melted faces, no lips and exposed teeth. Air wrenched her hand and with a final death throw the creature was ripped apart. She noticed that it wasn't alone and soon even more of them came out of the forest.

Not that she minded in the least.

\

"What is that?"

Fal opened her eyes to see that it was night already but that didn't matter, what mattered was the weird sounds she kept hearing from the forests. No not just any weird sounds.

' _Dangerbeasts'_ Fal hopped to her feet with an excited grin which fell once she remembered Tatsumi's orders _'master wouldn't mind, would he?'_

After thinking about it she closed her eyes and tried to locate him. She'd been doing this for the better part of the day so it was relatively easy for her to pick out his distinct heartbeat, plus Luna was with him.

" _Do you see them?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Try having man-bat attack them but with you controlling him."_

"… _it's difficult fighting through him."_

" _I've never attempted to fight through a creation before so it would be learning experience for both of us."_

" _Yes master."_

"Uh, master?"

"… _yes Fal?"_

"Can I go fight the dangerbeasts?"

"…"

"Pleaaaassssse?"

 _He sighed "fine just don't let them get past you. I wouldn't want them to terrorize that village we passed."_

"Alright!"

\

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, the-" he shuddered.

The doctor could feel it as well, the undeniable drop of temperature in the room. His eyes darted to the comatose body before going to a nurse.

"Halt the procedure, give her a dose of anesthetics, _now_!"

Before any orders could be fulfilled everyone froze, literally, including the head doctor though his face remained. A quick glance around the room had shown him that everyone was also in the same predicament, frozen up to their faces.

Suddenly his ice block began to turn until it stopped for him to look at a very awake, very _displeased_ Esdese. The General eyed the medical equipment then the frozen tubes connecting her arm to a bag of blood.

Her chilling blue eyes went to the man who whimpered in fear "I take it you are the one in charge here?"

"Y-y-yes ge-g-general E-e-e-Esde-s-se"

Her frown became more pronounced and with a wave the ice wore off and she swung her legs over the bed before crossing it.

"Make yourself warm doctor, I would like to have a short conversation with you. Now tell me" she pulled the tube from her arm "who gave you permission to harvest my blood?"

"P-Prime Minister H-Honest."

"I see" she looked down in thought before snapping her fingers to free the other staff "reverse the process, I want every drop of blood back in my body is that understood?"

"Y-YES!"

Not even bothering to properly warm himself he went to transfuse the blood he had harvested from the previously comatose woman. Esdese was known to kill people for far less and considering he had just essentially violated her, he was lucky to still be in one piece.

\

Tatsumi glanced in the direction of the capital for a moment, a small almost unnoticeable smile on his face.

" _Grargh"_

He flipped onto the dangerbeast's head and drive his sword hilt deep into its brain. As it collapsed, black thorns began sprouting from the wound enveloping the corpse until nothing remains of it.

"That's the last of them" he spoke.

The four of them had taken to setting a perimeter inside the forest. Unlike most dangerbeasts these were smart enough to try and flee once they saw most of their ranks cut down. This caused them to actively hunt them down, not that it was a problem.

"I've never seen these species of dangerbeasts before" Luna spoke looking at the shadowed form of the new dangerbeasts.

"They're not dangerbeasts" Fal spoke solemnly.

"Then what are they?" Air floated to the ground.

"The queer doctor's human experiments."

"That thing used to be human?" Air pointed at it.

"Makes sense when you think about it" Tatsumi spoke "I mean what kind of dangerbeasts have mechanical parts."

"Among other things" Luna muttered.

"We're moving" Tatsumi said turning to leave "what's the closest city?"

Air took out the map and looked "um, the closest city is….Kyoroch."

"Then that's where we'll go."

"We're staying in a town this time?" Fal questioned.

"Yes."

Air's brow furrowed a bit "may I ask why the sudden change of plans?"

Up until now Tatsumi didn't have a destination in mind, it was pure coincidence they passed the last town in the first place.

Tatsumi stopped and glanced over his shoulder with a small smile "I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

\

His eyes fluttered open with a serene smile "he's coming."

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I am so sorry for the late update, I have no excuse, just a bout of laziness on my part, I actually finished this last week but I uh sorta forgot to upload it-PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!**

 **Also when writing it I was tired of rehashing the Night Raid scenes from the manga and instead did the original scenes. I won't lie I was out of it when I wrote this chapter and with school coming up in September I think I'm going over a bout of depression. This will probably be the last chapter for the month, sorry.**

 **I am also sorry you guys thought I abandoned this story, I would never do that and don't plan to for the foreseeable future.**


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